Avatar: a World in Need of Renewal
by Jess168
Summary: After the death of Avatar Kora, the world has been rocked by a war like never before- between humans and spirits. Nearly destroyed by the war, the four nations struggle to rebuild. They turn their blame against benders, persecuting them. This is the world young Avani, the new avatar, is born into. (SEMI AU. Rated T for violence.)
1. Prolouge

Prologue

When Avatar Kora combined the spiritual and physical worlds, she did not realize what consequences it would have on her world. At first, Kora thought the spirits and humans would learn to live together in peace, but despite her best efforts, she could not get them to coexist. Some spirits chose to live peacefully among the humans, but not all had good intentions, and those were the ones that caused the problems. The humans did not help either; like in Capitol City when vines covered half of the city, the humans refused to accept the change and adapt. Because of this, Kora struggled to keep the peace, and was forced from one conflict to the next throughout her lifetime. She worried constantly what would happen to the world when she passed and the new avatar was too young to control the tension between the spirits and humans, but could only hope things would settle. As she grew older, she started to seriously doubt things would work out. She was right to worry.

Eventually, one of these conflicts claimed her life, and the world was without their mediator. Chaos quickly ensued, leaving officials to desperately hope for the arrival of the next avatar. Time passed, and as the conflicts between the spirits and humans grew, they started to lose hope in the avatar, and began searching for other methods to rid their world of the spirits. They began to believe the only way their lives could return to normal was if the spirits were removed. They began planning an attack, gathering their forces. They had no idea if it would be possible for them to win, but they felt they had no other choice. They were desperate, and desperate people do desperate things.

War broke out between the two, a war like the world had never seen before. Hundreds of people died just to remove one spirit from the world. The four nations fought desperately, but they were no match for the spirit's power. They unleashed disaster upon the earth, deforming it entirely. The climate changed, becoming colder. The Ice at the poles grew, lowering the sea level. Earthquakes rocked the larger continents, breaking them apart, creating new islands. Once great cities like Ba Sing Se fell, becoming charred rubble overnight. The weather became unpredictable and destructive, causing many more deaths. New volcanoes appeared where there had been none, and dormant volcanoes erupted like never before. The Fire Nation grew in size, but it's people were almost wiped out during the eruptions. The young Air Nation suffered greatly, losing two of their four temples, and at least half of their people. Capitol City was leveled in the first months of the battle, killing most of its inhabitants.

The fighting lasted for ten years. When the smoke finally cleared, the spirits had won by a landslide, but rather than remain in the physical world, they chose to leave, disgusted by the humans, and longing for the peace of their own world. Only a small few remained, because they pitied the humans and decided to help them.

The survivors of the war regrouped in the earth kingdom to begin rebuilding. They were angered because of their losses, and desperately in need of somebody to blame. At first, they blamed the avatar, for allowing the spirits to enter their world in the first place, but because the avatar was nowhere to be found, their blame quickly turned to the next best thing; benders in general. Conflict arose around this subject, and eventually the people broke apart, returning to the four nations, because of their inability to agree on what to do about the benders.

The Air Nomads did not believe the benders were the cause of the war, but people in general, so they allowed their people to continue to bend. They regrouped at the southern air temple, where they decided they would stay out of the conflicts between the other nations.

The Earth King was one of the few that believed that benders were the cause of the war, and placed strict rules on those who could bend. Only those serving in the military could use their bending freely, so most benders joined the army.

The Southern Water tribe's few benders had all died in the fight, so they weren't really affected by the argument, but the Northern Water tribe's entire existence revolved around their benders. With the loss of most of the world's technological advances during the war, their city had returned to heavily relying on benders to function. They could not do without them, so they allowed their benders to continue bending.

The Firelord had always hated benders, because his wife had been one. Soon after the birth of their twin daughters, she had gone rogue, attacking people at random and causing a lot of trouble for her husband. Because of this, the Firelord was a big supporter of the anti-bender laws, and placed many similar restrictions on his people as the earth king did.

An uneasy peace settled over the land, and slowly the four kingdoms began to recover, but the world would never be the same. The effect the war had on the planet was still quite obvious. Random, extreme natural disasters still rocked the world, making it hard to rebuild. It was like a constant battle against nature to simply get a small city going. On top of that, the colder climate made the growing season shorter, so it became very hard to grow enough food for everyone. Poverty plagued the kingdoms.

By this point, benders all over the world who hated the laws against them had gathered together in secret, to try to better the world. They took on the name of the White Lotus, and made the search for the avatar their duty, hoping with its return, the world would finally recover…

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><p><strong>Author's notes: This is almost an alternate universe, because I'm changing some things that happened in the legend of kora. Basically, the only thing I'm keeping is the characters, and that she combined the physical and spiritual worlds after a conflict with a spirit. She didn't lose her connection to her past lives, because that would have ended the avatar cycle. Also, I don't own Avatar: the last airbender, or legend of kora. <strong>


	2. Chapter 1

**I realized that somewhere in the writing of this, I changed Arrkun's name. It was originally Arrluk. I don't know what one I like better, but I would like to make it consistent. Which one do you as readers like best?**

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

_Eona  
>Fire Nation capital, Two years after the nations separated<em>

Eona glanced around the palace courtyard, checking to make sure it was empty. When she was sure she was alone, she slipped out into the moonlight, her bare feet not making a sound on the dry ground. Dressed in a simple read tunic, her long black hair pulled back in a tight braid, nobody would have guessed her royal heritage by looking at her. Her heart beat rapidly, her nervousness and excitement making it race.

The full moon above was just bright enough to aluminate the dilapidated walls around her. This part of the palace had once been the extra guest wing, and the Firelord had no intention of repairing it, at least not in the near future. While the rest of the palace had been restored to its former glory, this wing and its courtyard remained unused, scarred, and falling apart. It made for a perfect secret firebending practice area; It's high walls prevented anybody outside the palace from seeing the glow of the fire, and the empty rooms guaranteed no one would be spying from inside the palace. The courtyard's grass had long since dried up, to be replaced by a hard, sandy surface. The courtyard's surroundings were already scorched black from the war, so there was no reason to worry if she accidentally lost control of the fire.

The young princess sighed heavily, and sat cross-legged in the center of the empty courtyard. She had to force herself to spend a couple of minutes silently meditating, or her racing emotions would make it hard to control the fire she was about to conjure. As her heartbeat settled and she felt more sure of herself, Eona stood, walked to one side of the courtyard, and breathed in deeply, searching for the energy insider her. Her hands became swathed in fire, it's glow dancing across her surroundings, and picking up the hint of gold thread in her red tunic. She smiled slightly at its sight.

She began a sequence of firebending, her movements fluid and exact. Though firebending at night made her bending not as strong as it could be during the day, she still felt the deadly power fire brought her. She could only imagine how strong her bending would be during the day. It had been so long since she had bended under the light of the sun, she had gotten used to not having the extra strength it brought.

She continued to practice, fighting off invisible enemies. Every time she came to practice, it always made her think of her mother, who had disappeared a few years into the war. Her mother had taught her everything she knew, in secret because her husband had always disapproved of firebending. Lucky for Eona, that guaranteed that none of her family knew about it. Now that firebending was all but illegal, it was crucial for her to keep it a secret. She would lose everything if her father found out she was a bender.

After a few hours, she paused, breathing heavily, and then allowed the fire to die. She knew she couldn't stay out much longer; she was expected at an early meeting with her sister and father, and she couldn't afford to oversleep because she had stayed up all night firebending. Eona glanced around the courtyard, making sure she hadn't left any small fires behind, and then slipped back into the shadows as if she had never been there. As she did, a shadow across the courtyard shifted, the only sign that someone else had been present.

* * *

><p><em>Avani<br>Somewhere in the earth kingdom_

Avani blinked, the sun above waking her from her sleep. She stretched dramatically, yawning as she did, and then stood. She abruptly fell back down as pain exploded through her head. Wincing, she rubbed the top of her head and glanced up, realizing she had smacked her head on the low ledge she had slept under. _Great Avani, what a wonderful way to start the day, _she thought. _Nothing like a headache to make wandering as a fugitive just that much better._

She sighed and started rolling up her sleeping bag. Attaching it to the top of her backpack, she slung the pack onto her back, when her stomach growled. _Right… breakfast._ She pulled the pack off, and started rummaging around inside. Eventually she pulled out a small package. Inside was a couple pieces of jerky. _Well, there goes the last of my food, _she thought as she ate the coupled pieces. _This sucks._

When she finished, she once again placed the pack on her back, and carefully backed out from under the ledge. Once out from underneath it, her green eyes scanned the landscape around her, wondering what way would be smartest to go. She had come from the south, and for the most part had just headed north. With no real destination in mind, she was just wandering from town to town, trying to find a place to stay.

Just a month ago, Avani had lived with her parents in a small town near the shore. The three had lived a semisecret life, hiding their bending from the world while still trying to live a normal life. It had been a wonderful life, until the soldiers had shown up.

Images of that night still plagued Avani's dreams. She couldn't help but think about it. Her mother had shown up in the middle of the night, shaking her awake and handing her the pack now swung on Avani's back. She had forced her daughter out the back door and told Avani to run. Her father had disappeared out the front, and then she had heard shouting. Terrified, but knowing why the men were there, Avani had obeyed her mother, hurrying out the back door. She had run, clutching the pack to her chest, her stubborn earthbending personality the only thing keeping her from breaking down in tears.

She hadn't seen her parents sense, and didn't expect to. She had accepted that harsh reality weeks ago, but it still hurt to think about them, and she still missed them terribly. At sixteen, she felt she shouldn't have to face the world alone, but that was the hand the fates had dealt her. _I'll make it through this, one way or another, _she reminded herself, forcing herself to concentrate on her present situation.

She turned and started down the path, heading north again, not sure what else to do. She hoped to run into a town soon, so she could get more food. She had found a handful of money in the bottom of the pack, and had saved it to buy more food when she ran out. She knew it wouldn't last long, and had no clue what she would do once she run out of money too. _Maybe I could stay permanently in the next town I run into. Get a job. Maybe._ She hadn't stayed long in any town for very long. After all, she was still a fugitive. Who knew how far word of her and her family had spread? She couldn't risk getting caught. She couldn't risk throwing away her parents' sacrifice like that.

* * *

><p><em>Eona<em>

Eona stared at her reflection in the mirror as her maid tied her hair up in a tight bun, and then nestled the symbol of the crown princess into the dark locks. She was dressed in formal robes, it's fabrics different shades of red, gold, and black. She hated formal wear, and only dressed up for the most important meetings. This one was one of the most important of her life. She had just turned eighteen a few days ago, and was now old enough to assume the throne, if her father was ready to step down. During the meeting, her, her father, and her sister would discuss their plans for the Firenation's future, and her father would decide if he was ready to allow his daughter to take over. The pressure she felt almost overwhelmed her. _I might be about to become Firelord, _she thought.

"I'm finished, mistress," the maid said, breaking Eona from her thoughts.

"Thank you, Faia. Your dismissed for the day," Eona said softly, glancing at her maid's reflection next to hers in the mirror.

"Will you be needing me later?" the older woman asked.

"No. I'll be fine," Eona replied.

"Thank you, mistress." Faia bowed deeply, her hands together in front of her, one straight, the other a tight fist barely touching her wrist. Then she straightened and slipped out of the room, leaving Eona alone with her reflection. She stared for a few minutes more, wanting to remember this moment. This could just very well be the last time she saw herself as Princess Eona. She couldn't help but wonder if she would look different with the crown of the Firelord on her head; she wondered if the weight of a whole nation's safety would show when she looked in the mirror again.

As she left her room, she met up with her twin sister, Kimiko. She was dressed in identical robes, with a slightly smaller crown resting on her head. "Hello Eona. Ready for this?" she asked with a small smile.

Eona could tell her sister was trying to be supportive, but Eona could see the jealousy in her brown eyes. Kimiko was younger than Eona by seconds, and Eona knew her sister felt cheated. It had made their relationship strained, no matter how hard Eona tried to fix it. She had never understood why her sister felt the way she did; despite being crown princess, there was no difference between the two girl's lives. Besides, knowing that you were destined to lead a nation wasn't a good thing to Eona, but a large, complicated responsibility that was just a bit hard to swallow. "Yeah, I guess I'm ready," Eona told her sister, even though she felt far from it.

"Well then, let's not keep father waiting," Kimiko said, interlacing her arm with her sister's, and leading her down the hall. They soon reached their father's throne room, and, pushing back the heavy silk curtains, the twins slipped inside. The room was large and open, lit only by the fire that danced in front of the Firelord. She knew Firelords before had designed the throne room, and it wouldn't change, despite the fact that the man sitting behind those flames had no control over them. It was mostly symbolic now, not a representation of his power as it had been for previous Firelords.

The twins bowed in front of the throne, showing their respect, and then each moved to one of the pillow-seats on the floor. They knelt, turning their gazes to their father. The Firelord rose, and the fire cut out long enough for him to move through them, temporarily plunging the room into darkness. "My daughters," he started. The strain in his voice surprised Eona. He almost seemed on the verge of an angry outburst, which didn't seem to fit the situation at all. "Today… should have been a great day. Today should have been the day that Eona took the throne, guiding our people as I have for so many years. I was completely ready to hand the crown over, because I am tired, and ready to retire, but something has come to my attention that may… prevent my retirement."

Eona's eyes narrowed in confusion, and she turned to stare at the floor, not wanting her father to see it reflecting in her golden eyes. Nervousness churned through her, making her clutch at the silk layers of her robes. _What is he getting at? _She wondered.

"Eona," her father said, asking for her attention.

She glanced up. "Yes father?" she asked politely.

He met her gaze, something that he rarely did. "What were you doing last night in the abandoned courtyard?" he asked. She could sense the threat in his words, like she had many times before. He was daring her to lie to him, as if he already knew the answer to his question.

Her heart raced, and she suddenly had a hard time breathing, but she didn't let it show. She bowed her head lower, wondering just what her father knew. "Father I…" she started, but he cut her off.

"Were you firebending?" he asked, his tone sharp. "Are you a bender?" He paused, moving closer to her. "Look at me girl," he ordered.

She looked up to him, sure the fear she felt was reflected in her eyes. She swallowed hard, knowing she couldn't remain silent. "I'm not," she said, years of practiced control kicking in to keep her voice steady, but respectful.

"Liar!" he yelled, almost making Eona flinch. She bowed lower than ever before, her hands and forehead pressed to the ground. "I saw you. I watched your little display last night. Your mother taught you, didn't she?" Eona's silence must have been answer enough, because he then said, "She _ruined you. _You could have been one of the greatest Firelords yet, but she ruined all of that, by teaching you to bend."

He paused, backing away, seeming to take a moment to gather himself. Eona stayed bent over, her face close to the ground, not daring to move, or even breathe. _Could have? _She thought, her mind racing. _Does he plan to remove my birthright?_ As if he could hear her thoughts, her father said, "I can't have a _bender, _especially one taught by that retched woman I married, leading this nation. Therefore, officially now, I remove your birthright, Eona." She swallowed hard, not sure how to feel about that. She glanced up once, to see her father turn on her twin. "You're not a bender too, are you, Kimiko?"

"No, father. I swear on my life," Kimiko replied. Eona knew she was telling the truth.

"Good. You shall be our new Firelord, then. The coronation will be tomorrow. Your dismissed," Kimiko nodded, stood, and left. "Eona. Being your father, I'm feeling merciful towards you. Be grateful. Better men and women than you have died for less. You lied to me, several times. I could have you charged and treated like a traitor, but because you are my blood I will not. You will serve your sister loyally. Go. I don't want to see you again."

"Yes, Firelord," Eona said, barely managing to keep her raging emotions out of her voice. She stood and turned to leave, when she heard her father call out her name again.

"Oh, and Eona, that crown? You better switch with your sister. That's not yours anymore," he said smugly, as if he wasn't talking to his daughter anymore, but an enemy he had just won and couldn't help but rub his victory in.

"Yes, Firelord," she repeated, closing her eyes to prevent the tears she felt coming from escaping. She slipped through the silk curtains again, reaching up to pull the crown off roughly. She hardly felt it yank her hair as it pulled out. She didn't notice the person in front of her either, until she bumped into her. She took a startled step back and then looked up to meet the brown eyes of her sister.

"I'm sorry, Eona," Kimiko said, her words hinting at the contempt she felt. Her words angered Eona, Kimiko's barely hidden triumph the last draw. She couldn't control her emotions anymore.

"Save it, Kimiko. I know you've always wanted my crown," Eona snapped. She pushed the crown at her sister, who barely grabbed it before it fell. "Well, here you go. It's yours now. Have fun with it." She pushed past her sister, but the newly appointed crown princess grabbed her sister's arm.

"Don't talk to me like that. I'm your sister, and soon to be your Firelord. Show some respect," Kimiko demanded.

_Well she warmed up to her new position quickly, _Eona thought. She whirled on her sister and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, should I have bowed before handing you my future, _your highness? _Well, you can forget it, because I won't." She then pried her arm from her sister's grip, her superior strength making it easy, spun on her heel, and started back down the hall. She paused, and over her shoulder, she called, "Oh, and by the way, you have to earn my respect, Firelord or not. You've only ever shown me that you're a jealous, power-hungry idiot." With that, she stormed back to her room, not realizing the effect her words would have on her future.

* * *

><p><em>Avani<em>

Just as the sun was nearing the western horizon, Avani rounded a large boulder, and suddenly a town seemed to erupt from the grassy landscape. Sighing with relief, clutching her empty stomach, she picked up her pace, quickly heading into town.

Once there, she began scanning the shops and restaurants, hoping to find something before they all closed for the evening. She was just entering a restaurant, when a man approached her, dressed all in black. He seemed to study her for a minute, his blue eyes taking her in, making her feel wary. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"You just might." He paused a moment, seeming a bit unsure, before continuing. "Don't freak, but I think I know who you are. Is your name Avani Nomura?" he asked carefully.

Avani narrowed her eyes, staring at him. "Who's asking?" she questioned. She had unconsciously slipped into a loose defensive stance, ready to defend herself.

He must have recognized it, because he raised his hands in a sign of compliance, trying to avoid a fight. "Hey, I'm a friend. My names' Arrluk. My father knew your parents. Your father sent us to look for you. I'm here to help," he said hastily.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Avani demanded.

"How am I supposed to prove I knew your father?" Arrluk asked, sounding a bit exasperated. "Look, are you hungry? Let me get you something to eat, and we can talk this over, alright?"

Avani sighed. "I am pretty hungry," she said, relaxing a bit. "Alright, I'll hear you out."

Arrluk flashed a smile, and then said, "Great. Come on." They claimed a table for two, and then quickly ordered. As they waited for their food, Avani couldn't help but study her new companion. He was obviously close in age to her, with very dark brown hair. It was cut short. His skin was tan, and his eyes were dark blue, almost indigo. He looked like he hailed from one of the two poles, and Avani couldn't help but guess the south pole; he didn't look pampered, like some of the North Pole tribesmen she had seen. His build and modest clothing spoke of a humble, hard-working life.

Once their food arrived, Arrluk slowly started explaining. "My father and your father had fought in the war together, and have been close ever since. When your dad stopped answering my dad's letters, he got worried. Me and him went to your house to figure out what happened. He left a message for us, explaining what had happened. He wrote it like he had expected to be caught bending." He paused, noticing Avani was staring very intently at her food, not eating a bite, just pushing it around in the bowl. "You okay hearing this?" he asked gently, as if he had realized just how touchy a topic this might be.

Looking up, Avani forced a smile. She was nothing if not tough. "Of course," she told him. She wanted to know as much as she could about her parent's situation, no matter how hard it hurt to hear it.

"Alright then," Arrluk acknowledged. "On the letter he said that his daughter -you, I assume, was probably wandering around alone, and was hoping someone would find you. He over stressed how important your safety was. You must have a great father."

"He was," Avani said softly, memories of her father almost overwhelming her. _Wait, when did I start referring to them in past tense?_ She thought. They_ may still be alive. He _is _a good father, Avani. Not was. Not yet. _After a pause, she said, "So, you started looking for me?"

"Yeah. It took us much longer to track you down that we thought it would. My father and I got a bunch of friends of your father and mine and even some relatives together to look for you," Arrluk told her.

"Well, now that you found me, what happens next?" She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was starting to trust him, despite her better judgment.

"Well, my father would really like to meet you. He says it's important," Arrluk told her.

"Really? Why? I mean, other than doing what my father asked and keeping me safe- which I can do on my own, by the way- why does he want to see me?" Avani asked.

"Well… he thinks… It's kind of crazy, but… my father's a bender, and I'm a bender, so your father told us you were too. Sense learning that, my father thinks you might…" Arrluk said, but then he paused, glancing around, making sure nobody was listening.

"What? What is it?" Avani pressed, her curiosity building.

"He thinks you may be the next avatar," Arrluk said softly.

If she wasn't so shocked, she would have started laughing right then. She leaned back into her chair, trying to take that it. After a minute, she asked, "Really? What makes him think that?"

Arrluk shrugged. "I have no idea. He can be a bit eccentric at times, but he's rarely wrong. He'll be able to explain better when we meet up with him."

"Where is he?" Avani asked.

"The north pole, currently," Arrluk replied. "He asked me to bring you there, once I found you… if you're willing. I'm not going to force you to go. Heck, we just met. It wouldn't really help my cause of being a friend if I forced you to go." With that, he smiled a lopsided grin, making her almost feel like laughing again.

"Well… it beats wandering around here aimlessly…" Avani muttered.

"So you'll come?" Arrluk asked.

"Yeah, I'll come," Avani agreed.

"Well then, we'll leave tomorrow," Arrluk said. "Once you're done, there's an inn nearby, I've already got a room there. You could get a room there for the night, if you want." Avani nodded in agreement. They finished their meal in silence, and then Arrluk paid and they left. She followed him to the in, rented a room, and headed up to it.

Lying awake on the soft bed, she tried desperately to get to sleep, but she was almost too comfortable in the bed after sleeping on the ground for a month, and she couldn't get her mind to quiet long enough to sleep. So much had changed today. _Well, it's off to the North Poll then, with a man I hardly know. This should be interesting… and I may be the Avatar. How weird is that? _

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><p><strong>Author's notes: Here's the first chapter! Enjoy. Just mainly introducing some important characters. Commentsfeedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 2

**I realized that somewhere in the writing of this, I changed Arrkun's name. It was originally Arrluk. I don't know what one I like better, but I would like to make it consistent. Which one do you as readers like best?**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

_Eona  
>Fire Nation palace, two weeks after Firelord Kimiko's coronation<em>

Eona leaned against one of the many pillars in the silent throne room, staring at the empty throne. She couldn't help but feel a spark of irritation, and a small sense of loss looking at it. She would just get to the point where she felt she was over losing her thrown to her sister, and then she'd see her, or she'd be stupid and go into the throne room alone, and all the raging emotions she had felt over the past few days would come back. She was starting to feel caged inside the palace. The people outside the walls had easily accepted the switch in future leaders, assuming the two twins couldn't be that much different, but inside the walls of the palace, everyone either treated her with pity, or with hatred. She couldn't stand being treated that way. Just two weeks and a day ago, she had been respected, maybe even feared, by the members of the royal court. Now she was just the princess that would never amount to anything.

For the most part, sense her sister's coronation, Eona and Kimiko had ignored each other, only seeing each other in public. Eona had managed to hold her tongue while in her sister's presence in public, but she knew if she was alone with her, she wouldn't be able to. She wasn't sure how long she could keep it up. On top of everything, she hadn't dared firebend, now that everyone knew, and the longing for the natural outlet was driving her insane.

As she stared at the throne, she kept telling herself she really didn't want it, trying to keep her emotions in check. She knew she should leave the throne room, instead of tormenting herself by staring at it and thinking about all the lost possibilities, but she just couldn't tare her eyes away. Now that it was gone, she was starting to realize just how much she had wanted her birthright. _Who's been cheated now?_ She thought angrily.

Just then, the silk curtains behind her parted, allowing her sister to enter the room. Eona ignored her, even though she knew she was being disrespectful by not acknowledging her Firelord's presence. She didn't care. By her standards, Kimiko still hadn't earned any respect, and wouldn't get it until then. "You've been sulking around these halls for the past two weeks like somebody died. Really now Eona, would it kill you to at least acknowledge my position, and move on with your life?" Kimiko said as she approached. Eona continued to stare doggedly at the empty throne, not saying a word. "You realize you're only making life worse for you, right?" Kimiko said cheerfully, but the threat in her words was obvious. The young Firelord did not like being ignored, even if it was her twin sister doing the ignoring.

"Come now, Kimiko, would it hurt you to stop gloating every time you see me?" Eona asked, finally breaking the silence by using her sister's words. "Then I could at least try to act like I don't care that you completely stole my life from me. "

"Don't let your jealousy get the better of you, Eona. It's not my fault that you destroyed your chance at being Firelord-" Kimiko started, but Eona cut her off mid-sentence.

"No. I _did not_ ruin my chances. Father_ took _it from me. Why? Because I was born a bender. That's not something I could control! It's not my fault, or any other bender's fault that him and all the other world leaders couldn't cope with the spirits! Why do we have to be blamed for it?! We've been persecuted and hated for a war that _wasn't _our fault, for months now! Why don't you just end the torment and kill us all, like you so badly want to!" She was yelling now, and was no longer paying attention to what she was saying. Without her realizing it, the flames flickering in front of the empty throne had responded to her emotions, leaping upwards, licking at the marble ceiling. They turned a deep blue, her anger making them burn hotter.

"That, right there, is exactly why benders like you _should_ be destroyed, or at least locked up! You can't control your power, or your emotions, making you a threat to yourselves and everyone around you," Kimiko seethed, pointing at the raging fire. "Stop it, now," she demanded.

Eona reluctantly obeyed, even though she'd much rather let her anger pour into the flames, let them consume her and everyone else around her. She turned to the flames and forced them to shrink back to their original size, and then turned back to her sister. "Is that really how you feel about me? About a good percentage of your citizens? That we're monsters, and should be locked up, or worse, hunted down and slaughtered like animals?" Eona demanded. Before her sister got a chance to answer, she said, "I knew you were jealous of me, Kimiko, but I didn't realize just how much you loathed me."

"If it meant finding peace, and finally allowing the world to heal from the war, then I would happily do so," Kimiko yelled, losing her temper.

Eona shook her head, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, small smoke trails lifting from them, hinting at the fact that she was barely keeping them from erupting in flames. Her whole body shook with rage. "I can't believe you would actually do that. You'd have to have a reason. Just locking up half the nation without a real reason is too cruel, even for you."

"Don't tempt me," Kimiko said, suddenly becoming strangely calm. "I'm Firelord, remember? I can do what I want." Eona met her sister's gaze, golden eyes staring into her sister's brown ones. The determination that burned there, and something about the way her sister had said 'don't tempt me', suddenly made Eona stop and think about what they were saying for a minute.

Not once had her sister denied that she hated the benders, or that she planned to get rid of them. "You're serious. You actually plan on trying to purge the fire nation of benders," Eona stated bluntly, her anger dissipating, replaced by appalled uneasiness.

Kimiko smiled cruelly, a look that Eona had never seen on her sister. "It was your idea," she said, almost sweetly. "And I'm going to start with you. Guards! Arrest her!"

Suddenly the room was swarming with soldiers. Eona's eyes widened in fear and shock as she eyed them, not sure she could fight all of them. _She must have had this planned, _Eona thought, horrified that her sister actually intended to try to destroy the benders. Kimiko slunk back to slowly make her way around the group to her throne, a dark, smug smile on her face. She would never take part in something as messy as a fight. Part of Eona wished her sister would have stayed so she could blast that smug grin off of her.

The soldiers closed on her, preparing for a fight. "Eona, don't make this hard on yourself," one of them said. "Just come quietly. We don't want to fight you."

Knowing there was no way she was going to let herself be locked up in a prison, Eona slipped into a defensive stance, allowing fire to leap to her fingers. "Your mistake," she said. She thrust her hands forward and an arc of fire escaped from her fingertips, shooting towards a soldier. The man screamed as it burnt him, and she winced slightly. Never had she used her power to actually hurt somebody. She didn't have long to think about it, before another moved towards her, swiping at her with a fist. She blocked the attack with her forearm, and then swiped his feet from underneath him easily. She slowly stopped acknowledging what she was doing to the soldiers and just fought, her thoughts becoming cold and precise. She became the destructive warrior she had trained so long and hard to be, leaving the princess behind.

She hadn't fought long when she saw her opening –or rather, she was given an opening; one soldier, as she turned towards him, stepped out-of-the-way, leaving a clear path to the door. Weather it was an act of cowardice, or the man was actually trying to give her a way out, she didn't know, but she didn't stay long enough to find out. She dashed through the whole in the wall of soldiers, and rushed out of the room. Turning, she threw a punch at the silk curtains she had just passed through, and fire shot from her hand, eating at the silk quickly. The only entrance to the throne room quickly became a raging fire. It would take them a minute to figure out how to get around it, hopefully buying her some time.

She hurried down one of the corridors, running to its end, and then she passed under an archway out into the main inner courtyard of the palace. She quickly ran across the young grass, around the pond, and back inside the palace. As she ran, she couldn't help but feel grateful for the practical tunic, pants, and boots she had chosen to wear today. She couldn't have imagined fighting all those soldiers in her formal robes, or worse, a dress.

Continuing through the corridors, Eona headed for her room, going the roundabout way. She had to stop there; if she was going to be running for a while, she would need money, food, clothes. She figured she could grab some stuff before her pursuers caught up. They had no clue where she was going, and her room was pretty close to the throne room. They wouldn't expect her to go back there. Even if they did discover her there, there were many exits from the room, making it easy for her to escape again.

She burst into the dark room, grabbing some money and stuffing it into a bag. Throwing open the doors to her wardrobe, she quickly realized all her clothes but the tunic she used for practicing and a simple dress were too fancy. Their elegant appearance screamed royalty, or at least nobility, and would stand out in a crowd. Shrugging, she grabbed the dress and tunic, shoved them in the bag, threw the bag's single strap over her shoulder, and then turned out of the room.

She quickly made her way through the palace, only running into guards a few times. It wasn't hard for her to quickly remove them from her path, and continue on. She was realizing that since she had spent so much time practicing at night and had learned to compensate for the lack of the sun, now that she was fighting with it, she was even more powerful than she would have expected.

Once out of the palace, she didn't slow her pace. She burst down the grand stairs leading up to the palace, across the outer courtyard, and into the city below, where she allowed herself to be swallowed up by the crowd. Royal guards poured from the palace, joined by more forces from the army. She knew she had to leave the city. She was too well-known here, and she wouldn't be able to avoid them for very long. She headed for the outskirts of the city, and slowly climbed the surrounding rocky cliff, following the well-worn path that merchants used to get in and out. At the top, she paused, glancing back at her home once more, before slipping down the other side of the rocks.

The docks were below. Eona made her way towards them, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed. When she was sure she wasn't, she approached one ship. It was heavily loaded with cargo, and there were a few people on deck, but nobody was paying attention to the dock below. She quickly and silently climbed the ramp, and then slipped below, searching for a quiet place to sit near the back of the crammed hold.

She forced herself up into a small gap between two large crates stacked on top of others. The gap was just big enough that if she pressed her back against the hull of the ship and kept her knees bent, she could fit without anyone seeing her. She pulled the pack out from underneath her, and, lighting a tiny flame nobody but her could see, pulled out the bag and counted how much money she had grabbed. She had actually grabbed herself a lot, which was good. She still had no food, and would need money for that. Plus, she didn't plan on stowing away on ships for forever. Eventually she would make it out of the Fire Nation, and then she would be safe to relax a little.

Then she paused, and realized she had no clue where the ship she was on was heading. _If it goes to the Earth Kingdom, I still won't be able to bend, _she thought, and immediately she wished she had grabbed a weapon. _Oh well. I'll find one wherever I'm going._

She let her head rest against the curved side of the ship, closing her eyes. She focused on the gentle rocking of the boat, waiting for the feeling of it leaving the port, hoping it would before her pursuers realized she wasn't in the city. Once she felt the ship begin to pick up speed and pull away from the docks, she relaxed a bit, feeling safe for the first time in a while. _I'm surprised I got away so easily, _she mused. Deciding to try to sleep, she tried to ship to get more comfortable, but realized that wasn't going to happen, so she opened her eyes and looked around the dark hold of the ship. Slowly, as the ship pulled farther away from her home and the only world she had ever known, the adrenaline started to wear off and the reality of her situation began to sink in.

That morning, she had woken up as a princess of the Fire Nation, second only to her sister, the Firelord, and her father. She had more clothes in her closet than most girls dreamed about seeing, she had free access to servants galore, and all the food and entertainment than a girl could ever want. In seconds, her sister had taken all that away. Now, she was fugitive of the Fire Nation, with just the things in her pack, nowhere to call home, and not a single real friend in the world.

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling tears coming, refusing to let them fall. She couldn't hold them in though, and silently she began to cry, mourning all she had lost in the past two weeks.

* * *

><p><em>Avani<br>Nearing the outskirts of Ba Sing Se's ruins_

Avani stared at the huge, dilapidated wall in front of her, her shock forcing her silent. She glanced at Arrkun, her green eyes wide with surprise. "This used to be Ba Sing Se?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, at one point. During the war, large chucks of land at the northern shore beyond the city broke away, leaving the city directly exposed the ocean. Soon after that, the spirits caused a tsunami. Even with the city's huge wall to protect it, half of the city flooded. Mostly the lower ring. They've been trying to get the water out… but most people have given up. Benders could do it, but the Earth King has refused to allow bending so…" He shrugged.

"So that's why the king moved the capital to Omashu, once the city was rebuilt," Avani mused.

"Yeah," Arrkun agreed. "Did he not tell you guys why he moved?"

"No. Our glorious king hardly tells us anything." She rolled her eyes, showing she really didn't feel like he was glorious. She stared up at the massive wall for a few minutes more, and then got a mischievous grin. "Want to go inside?" she asked.

"Why would I want to go into a half flooded, abandoned city?" he asked warily.

"Why not? It would be fun," she said with a shrug.

He paused, not sure what to say. "I'm not sure what we'll find in there," he pointed out. "The city might be completely ruined."

"If it is, we'll leave," she replied.

"How do you plan on getting in?" he asked.

"Well, I'm an earthbender, am I not?" she said, as if that explained everything.

He sighed and shook his head. "Okay, if you think you can get us in, let's go check it out. It won't hurt anything," he said, giving in.

She grinned, and then, looking at the wall, debated the best way to get up there. Glancing at the ground around them, she muttered a quick, "Hold on," and then closed her eyes. She could feel the earth underneath her clearer this way.

She heard him mutter a small, "Hold on to what?" but she ignored him, focusing on the task at hand. With a few quick motions, she separated the chunk of land they were standing on from the surrounding land, and started bending it upwards to the top of the wall. With a shudder, the rock shot upwards, bending to her control.

Arrkun stumbled, and then moved fearfully away from the edge. With a small smirk, she asked, "Afraid of heights?"

"Maybe a little," Arrkun replied, sounding defensive. She smiled. They continued up the rock surface at a decent pace. About halfway up, Avani found herself wishing Arrkun was an earthbender. She was tiring, and could have used the help of a second earthbender. She allowed a little of the rock to shed away, falling back down to the ground below, lightening the load a little.

Eventually, they reached the top of the wall, and the two quickly moved to the top of it. Once they were both safely on the wall, Avani allowed the rock to fall back to the ground below. She then took a moment to catch her breath, her eyes closed and her back turned to the city. After a few seconds, she muttered, "Hey, you never told me what you bend."

"Oh… water. I bend water…" Arrkun said, seeming only halfway paying attention.

"You okay?" Avani asked, turning to him, and then she stopped, when she saw the large expanse of water beyond the wall. "Oh wow…" she muttered, staring in awe. The water was almost more breathtaking that the wall holding it in place. When the tsunami had rushed over the wall, it had filled the space up inside, creating a huge, raised, salty lake. The water lapped only a few feet below the top of the wall. She figured if the lake ever became agitated, it wouldn't take much for it to spill over.

Off in the distance, Avani could just make out what looked like the rim of another wall, identical to the one they were standing on. "From what I've heard, the city has many walls… this area used to be farms… Beyond that wall, in the distance, was the actual city."

"It doesn't look like there's water beyond that wall to me… maybe we could get across, see what's left of the city," Arrkun suggested.

"Well, do you have a boat?" Avani asked. "Because I don't really like the idea of swimming across." They both knew it wouldn't be possible to swim the distance.

"I just told you I'm a waterbender, didn't I?" Arrkun said. "And you're an earthbender. You make us a boat, and I'll get us across."

Placing her chin in her hand, Avari debated it for a minute. "It just might work… but if I take rock from the wall, the water might spill over."

"Take it from there," Arrkun suggested, pointing at what looked like an old watch tower.

Avani moved towards it. The building had an open archway that led inside. She stepped through, looking around a dusty room. Light poured in from two open windows. A single table leaned precariously on three legs, it's fourth side supported by the chair that accompanied it. On the table laid a map. Looking at the map, it took Avari a minute to realize it was a map from before the war. "Wow. I guess I didn't realize just how much things have changed since then."

"Yeah. It's kind of sad, seeing just what we did to our world," Arrkun said, moving up behind her. He rolled up the map, tucking it into the pack he carried with him. "Come on, let's get to work."

She nodded, stepping back outside. "Keep back, alright?" she asked him. He stepped back a few paces, giving her some room. Once again, she closed her eyes, reaching out for the rock in front of her. With an upward thrust, she broke the roof from the walls. It hovered in the air for a minute, and then as she moved her hands, it slowly hovered out over the water, turning as it went. She rested it down in the water, point first. When she let it go, she stared at it for a minute, hoping it would float. When it didn't sink, she smiled. Then, turning on the wall, she forced a small piece off, flattened it, and laid it between them and the makeshift raft. "One earthboat, ready for departure to Ba Sing Se, leaving immediately," she said, gesturing to the stone triumphantly.

"Alright," Arrkun said with a huge grin. "Now it's my turn." The two walked down the ramp to their makeshift boat. Avani pushed the ramp back up on to the wall, and then sat cross-legged near the center of the earthboat. Arrkun moved to the back of the boat, and lifting his arms up and down, created a wave that pushed them away from the wall. Then, as he begun to spin his arms, they began picking up speed. In no time, they were shooting across the lake, heading for the distant wall.

Avani leaned back, spreading her legs out in front of her, and stared up at the blue sky, her head resting on her arms. The sun made its way across the sky as they sped across the lake. It seemed like forever before Arrkun said, "We made it."

Avani sat up to see that he had expertly maneuvered the boat up against the second rock wall. "Sweet," she said as she stood. She quickly created another ramp to let them off again, and the two benders climbed up to the second massive wall.

Looking down, Avani could make out another two walls in the distance, just like the one she was standing on now, but slightly smaller, and closer than the previous wall. Below was more water, but much more shallow this time. She could see buildings poking out from the water's surface; a tiled roof here, the upper floors of an apartment building there. "Not much is left of the lower ring," she said, stating the obvious.

"Let's keep moving. This is kind of depressing, seeing all those people's homes underwater. Who knows where they ended up," Arrkun said softly. Neither wanted to state what they were both thinking, so Avani said it to herself; _If they didn't end up dead, first._

"How do we get down?" she asked, glancing around the wall. "Trains used to allow people in and out of the city, but that's underwater now."

"Same way we got up and over the first wall?" Arrkun suggested.

"Yeah, that might work," Avani agreed. She glanced around, then shrugged, pulling the boat up and over the wall. She rested it against the wall, and then held it there. Once again, the two stepped on, Avani careful to not let it slip. Then, she let it drop, at a decent pace. It was a lot easier going down than up, and it didn't take as long to reach the watery city below. The rock rested on the water's surface. "Why don't you push us across like you did last time?" she suggested.

Arrkun shrugged, and then began pushing the water the same way as before to get them to the other wall, careful to avoid the rooftops jutting out of the water. Once across, Avani lifted them back to the top. By the time they reached the top of the wall, the sun was getting close to setting. "Wow. It took us a while to get over here," Arrkun remarked.

"Uh huh. The city's huge," Avani agreed. She let their boat slide down carefully to the water below again, and then turned her attention to the city below. Buildings spanned in front of her, some crumbling a bit, and all with an abandoned feeling. She could tell this had once been a nice city, but now it looked lonely and rundown. Near the wall was a small lake, which she was sure hadn't been there before. "I bet the water's getting in through holes in the wall. It would be easy to get it to go back out, with your skills, and then I could close the whole up. We might even be able to empty the lower ring the same way."

"Wait, who said anything about fixing the city?" Arrkun asked, sounding surprised. "I thought we had just come to see what it was like."

"I wasn't planning on it either…," she admitted, "but I stare at this place, and I can't help but imagine it like it used to be, twelve years ago, before the war; bustling with life, no random water, happy. I imagine it like that, and I can't help but want to _fix_ it. Return it to the way it was before."

"Have you seen the city before?" Arrkun asked.

"Not that I can remember. I would have been four. That's how old I was, when the war started. Just old enough to know something bad was happening but with no clue what to do," she replied.

"I was five," he stated. She nodded. _So he's a year older than me._ He seemed to get lost in thought for a moment, staring out on the city's remains. "Your right, the people are what make the city. This is just a shell of one. We should fix it. Maybe the people would come back."

Then a thought occurred to her. "Well, if I am the avatar like your dad thinks I am, that's my job, right? Fix the world? Might as well start somewhere."

"Well, we still don't know if that's true… but I guess you're right." He shrugged, and then pointed at the water near the wall, "Alright, let's start with that water there. I honestly don't know how much we'll be able to do just the two of us, but we can try, right?"

She smiled at him, and then stared along the wall. "Look, stairs. We can climb down to the city from there," she pointed out. Together they headed for the staircase, and started down. By the time they reached the bottom, the sun was setting beyond the city's walls. The wall cast long shadows across the western half of the city, swathing it in shadow. "Maybe we should find a place to stay, and start tomorrow," Avani suggested.

"Actually, it might be better to work through the night, if you're alright with that. My waterbending's stronger at night," Arrkun told her.

She shrugged. "Alright, but that just means I'll be sleeping all day long tomorrow. I hate missing my sleep."

He chuckled softly, and then said, "That's fine with me. Let's get to work." They moved to the water's edge. It was pretty shallow, spread out over a ways, but the water seemed to be expanding. "This water seems to just have gotten here," Arrkun pointed out.

"Yeah, like it's leaking through. Maybe through the train tunnel. Maybe it was already closed up before hand, but whatever they did to close it off is failing," Avani agreed.

"Let me go check it out," Arrkun said, and then moved closer to the wall, staying near the water's edge. It was deeper here, so they ended up walking through the water. "Wait here," he instructed. She nodded, backing away to dry ground. He parted the water, and stepped in. The closer he got to the wall, the deeper it got, and eventually his head disappeared under the wall of water. Abruptly it closed over his head, and she panicked, before noticed just under the surface he had created a bubble of air around himself and was moving closer to the wall. She followed his progress until a combination of the waning light and his depth made it impossible for her to see him. She plopped down on the ground with a huge sigh, hoping he wouldn't take too long.

The moon had just poked over the wall when the surface stirred. Avani hadn't realized she had dozed, but the sound of rippling water stirred her. She rubbed her eyes, hoping it didn't look like she had fallen asleep. The warm mark on her cheek from her palm made her worry she had a giant red mark there, and rubbed at it self-consciously. _Wait, when did I become so self-conscious? _She wondered, and forced her hand back into her lap.

The surface broke, parting like it had before, and then Arrkun appeared between it. When he stepped out of the water completely, he turned to her and said, "It looks like they boarded it up to keep people out, not water. It's effectively slowed the water down, but it won't keep it out. I removed the blockage, and then froze over the whole. It's going to melt in a few minutes, so we better be ready to control the water."

"Correction, you better be ready. I've just got to get down there and close up the whole once you get the water through. Are you going to be able to bend all this water and once?" she asked.

"You doubting me?" he asked with a playful smile.

"No, no. Just wondering," she said hastily.

He laughed. "Of course I'll be able to bend it all. Are you going to be able to close that whole up without collapsing the wall?"

"Now you doubt me!" she said, and then laughed. "I'm sure I can. I've never come across a problem I couldn't fix yet."

"Well then, we make the perfect team, then, because neither have I," he replied with a small smirk. Just then a strange cracking sound was heard from the wall, and the water level suddenly started to rise. "Here we go," she heard him mutter, before he stepped out into the water again.

Using a similar motion like he had to create the waves that started the boat across the lake, Arrkun began creating a wave, but this one was much, much bigger. It lifted above both their heads, taking almost all the water with it. Near the wall appeared what looked to be a train tunnel. Water rushed through it, but was quickly caught up in Arrkun's wave. "That's it," he grunted. "Get ready to close it."

"Right," she muttered, and then turned and started pulling roofs off of buildings nearby. _Sorry whoever these used to belong to, _she thought as she pulled another off. One by one, she forced the slab of earth to round out, into the shape of the tunnel. "Ready!" she called.

He nodded once, and then shifted his stance, allowing the water to flow with his hands. The giant wave followed his motions as is arms pulled back, becoming a huge stream of water. He turned and shoved the water forward, forcing it back into the tunnel. He kept pushing, until the water was just outside the tunnel, leaving only small puddles behind. "Now!" he yelled.

Knowing she had to work quickly, Avani moved to stand with her hand on the rock wall, and then slammed one of the slabs into the tunnel whole. She continued to slide the slab into the tunnel until she felt it line up with the outer edge of the wall. Then, she smoothed the edges between the wall and the slab, making it one. Grabbing another one, she pushed the next one into place, repeating the process with this one. She kept going until the tunnel was halfway filled up. "Alright, you can let the water go," she told Arrkun. She heard him sigh with relief, but she continued to work, filling the tunnel completely.

By the time she finished, she was drenched in sweat and completely exhausted. She was breathing heavily too. She turned to Arrkun, who was equally exhausted, and drenched. He was grinning wickedly, obviously feeling very accomplished. "That… was amazing," she told him in between gasps.

"Why thank you," Arrkun said, with a dramatic bow.

Smirking she said, "Actually, I was talking about my part, but your part was pretty cool too. Just not _as_ cool." She tried to keep a straight face, but then he started pouting dramatically, and she burst out laughing. He joined in, which made her laugh harder. They laughed at each other, with each other, all at once, until Avani's sides hurt.

"You know what sounds really good right now?" he said once the laughing subsided.

"A bed?" Avani guessed.

"Yes. But food first, bed later," Arrkun said.

Avani slapped her forehead. "I forgot to buy food while I was in town," she said, explaining her random forehead slap.

"Don't worry, I've got enough for the both of us. I always pack extra," he told her.

She smiled. "Thanks Arrkun." They moved away from the wall, farther in to town, and ended up making camp on somebody's porch. They had debated going inside, but thought it would be too weird, so they had stayed outside. They ate, and then set up their sleeping bags. Sleep quickly overcame Avani as she gave into her exhaustion.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Eona  
>Earth Kingdom port village, western shore<em>

Eona peeked her head out of the hold, hoping to quickly slip off the ship before anybody noticed her presence. The ship had just docked, and Eona's hunger and impatience had forced her to leave her cramped hideout behind. When she was sure nobody was watching, she pushed herself up onto the deck and hurried for the loading ramp. Just as she was about to step off the deck, she heard a man yell, "Hey! What are you doing on my ship?"

She sighed dramatically, cursing the fates for her bad luck. Turning, she muttered an uncertain "Um…" She wasn't about to admit she had stowed away on his ship, but she wasn't sure what to say to get out of it.

Before she had a chance to come up with an excuse, the man narrowed his eyes at her, tilting his head slightly to one side. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"Uh… no, I don't think so," Eona muttered, taking a step back. She glanced behind her, wondering, if she bolted now, could she get away?

"I do know you! I'm sure of it. You're very familiar…" the man muttered, stroking his bearded chin dramatically, as if it would help him think. Suddenly his eyes widened as realization dawned on the man's face. "Princess Eona!" he exclaimed, dropping to the deck of the ship, his head resting against its wooden planks. "Please, forgive my disrespect, I did not recognize you at first," he moaned.

"No, no, it's alright, I was hoping you wouldn't," Eona said, approaching the man. She was thinking quickly, trying to come up with an excuse for her presence on his ship. Obviously the man didn't know about the events that had unfolded in the palace, which was good. She rested a hand on his shoulder, wanting him to rise. He looked up, and she motioned for him to stand.

"May I ask, princess, why you are on my humble vessel?" the merchant asked carefully, his tone layered with admiration and respect. _Now that's something I've missed, _she thought as she felt a small sense of the superiority she had once held returning.

"Nobody can know I'm here," she ordered. "Swear you will keep my presence a secret, and I may feel kind enough to explain what is going on."

"Of course, princess. Your order is mine to obey," the man agreed, bowing his head slightly.

"Good." She paused, thinking of a quick story. "I'm here because I'm on a secret mission, sent by the Firelord herself. I'm trying to solve a problem that involves the disappearance of people. We suspect the Earth King himself is involved. I couldn't be seen leaving the country, so I was forced to stow away on your ship. I'm sorry if it caused you any inconvenience."

"No, of course not, Princess. I'm honored to have you aboard my ship. Being able to serve you, even without my knowledge, is a wonderful privilege," the man insisted.

Eona graced the man with a small smile, something she knew royalty rarely did in the presence of their citizens. "Thank you, kind sir. Now, I must be leaving. Remember, nobody can know of my presence here. Some people might ask about me. They may even be my sister's generals. Do not tell even them that you saw me… we suspect traitors among them, and my sister and I don't know who to trust." _I can't even trust her, _she thought bitterly.

"I will see that this is done," the man said, bowing again.

"I must leave, now," Eona repeated, backing away. She slipped down the ramp, hurrying down the dock. She couldn't help but hope her plan wouldn't backfire, and the man blabbed about where she was to everyone back home. _He seemed loyal enough. Hopefully he remains that way._

Once at the end of the dock, Eona took in the small but busy earth kingdom town she had ended up in. It was partly walled in, but half the wall had collapsed into the sea, along with plenty of other rubble she could only assume used to be buildings. Behind the city, a large but young forest sprouted from the ashes of a previous forest. All of the buildings were had green tiled roofs and tan walls, looking like a quint essential earth kingdom town. She couldn't help but notice how much of a change it was from red and gold color scheme at home. _No, not home, _she thought, realizing it was probably best she no longer referred to it as that. If she did, she would never get over what she had lost.

Moving farther into the town, she started scanning the shops near the docks. Most sold food and other stuff, but one shop had a painted sign above it boasting the 'best weapons in the Earth Kingdom'.

Deciding to stop there, Eona moved inside, looking around. She had to admit, the weapons inside were pretty impressive. Every type of weapon from every corner of the globe lined the shelves and racks. With such a large selection, it took her a minute to find what she was looking for. She stopped by the bows and almost bought one, but decided her archery skills were too lacking. There were plenty of smaller bladed weapons, perfect for concealing. She did grab a set of small knives, but that wasn't what she was looking for.

Finally, near the back of the shop, behind the spears, Eona stumbled across one of the largest selections of swords she had ever seen, and she had seen some pretty large ones. She started scanning through them, picking up a couple to test their weight, or how the grip felt. Picking up one, she smiled as it slipped into her hand comfortably. It wasn't too heavy, with a long, thin blade. It was a perfect one-handed weapon, just right for the style of fighting she employed. Stepping into the center of the aisle, she gave it a few experimental swings. "Like that one?" A man asked behind her.

She spared a glance at the man, and then allowed the sword to rest lightly on the palm over her empty hand. "Yeah," she muttered as she studied the blade.

"It is quite the sword, isn't it?" The man said, smiling, obviously very happy she was interested. "It's called a Jian sword. Apparently it's pretty popular in the Fire Nation."

She had recognized the design, and now it made sense why. This sword was very similar to one she had practiced with a few times back at the palace. Its familiarity is what had drawn her to it in the first place. "Yes, it is," she agreed. "How much for it?" He thought about that for a minute, decided a price, and announced it. Deciding it was fair enough, she said, "I'll take it."

The man nodded, looking even more pleased. "I'll go get the sheath that goes with it," he informed her. She nodded, and he disappeared into a back room of the shop. She reached into her pouch and retrieved the proper amount of gold pieces. When he returned, he handed her the sheath, and she handed him them the money. "Thank you for your business, miss!" he called as she headed out of shop.

Eona crossed the street to acquire some food from another shop, and added it to her pouch. Then, thinking it a good idea to acquire some clothing that would blend in with the crowds a little better, she stopped at a clothing store and claimed some. After that, she stood in the middle of the street, not knowing what to do next.

She was realizing she had stumbled across a freedom she had never had before. She could go anywhere, do anything, as long as she kept her identity a secret. Her life was completely her own for the first time in her life. Yes, she was free, and it terrified her.

* * *

><p><em>Avani<br>Ba Sing Se's middle ring_

Avani was spread out on her back, snoring softly, when she started to wake. Something had stirred her, but she wasn't sure what. Her groggy mind suddenly started to focus, and she realized there was a strange pressure on her chest, making it slightly difficult to breathe. She blinked her eyes open and looked down to find a furry thing curled up on her chest, purring softly in its sleep. She flinched, yelping. "What? What is it?" Arrkun said as he sat up, attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes.

The furry thing lifted its head, blinking at her with big yellow-green eyes. It yawned dramatically, flashing small canine teeth, before stretching and climbing off of her. She rolled over, facing it, and studied the intruder. It was a catowl, but one like she had never seen before. Instead of the body of an owl with a head of a cat, this one seemed a little weird, which was why it took her a minute to identify it; it had the body, legs, tail, and head of a cat, with owl wings tucked against its sides, and light feathering mixed in with the fur on its back. It's coat was dark brown with lighter and dark spots mixed in, like the wings of an owl. "Weird," she muttered. The catowl mewed as if what she had offended it.

"Is that a catowl?" Arrkun asked as she sat up. She nodded. The catowl began licking its long brown tail, obviously no longer bothered by Avani calling it weird. "What's it doing here?" Arrkun asked. He crawled out of his sleeping bag, moving towards her.

"Don't ask me. The thing can fly, maybe it just wandered here," Avani said with a shrug. She reached out for it, hoping it wouldn't shy away. Purring happily, it shoved its brown head into the palm of her hand, obviously wanting attention. She chuckled, stroking its head and soft, feathered back. "I think it likes me." It purred louder, as if in agreement.

"Well, we better get going, if we want to see the upper ring and get out of the city before the day's over," Arrkun said, climbing out of his sleeping bag and rolling it up.

"Alright," Avani said, turning to her sleeping bag. As she grabbed it, the catowl shot forward, shoving its nose underneath her hand, prying it from the bag. It tilted its head back, ending up with Avani's hand resting on its head again. She laughed, amazed at the strange creature's determination to not be ignored. She petted it for a few minutes more, and then rolled up her sleeping bag. It mewed pitifully, swiping a paw at her. "Hey!" she exclaimed. It shied away, mewing again.

"Aw… it's cute. Can we keep it?" Arrkun asked as it moved towards him, staring up at him with wide, pleading eyes. It bonked it's head on his leg, and then rubbed its side against him, mewing repeatedly.

"Yeah… it's adorable," Avani said wistfully, staring at the mottled pelt of the catowl. Then she blinked as she realized what he said. "Wait, why are you asking me if we can keep it?"

"I don't know… I guess I just felt I should ask before I started dragging it around," Arrkun said with a shrug. If she wasn't mistaking, he was blushing a bit, but his tan skin made it kind of hard to tell.

"Well, with the way it's acting now, I don't think we'll have much of a choice. I bet you it'll just follow us, whether we want it to or not," she said as it pawed at Arrkun's hand, rolling over playfully.

"Well then, it's decided then. He can come with us," Arrkun proclaimed, stroking the catowl's belly, which only made it purr louder.

"She."

Arrkun blinked. "What?"

"It's a girl. Male catowls have green or red markings on their wings. This one doesn't. It's a girl," Avani explained.

"Oh." He shrugged. "She, then. She needs a name."

"How about insistently needy?" Avani suggested. The catowl turned to stare at her, looking sad. She chuckled. "I don't think she likes that name."

"No, I don't think she does… what about Tora?" Arrkun suggested.

"I like it. Welcome Tora, to this strange band of random people," Avani said. Suddenly, Tora flipped back onto her paws, staring intently off in one direction, and then stalked off, returning a few minutes later with a mouse in her jaws. Avani's face scrunched up in disgust. "That's gross Tora," she informed the catowl. Tora obviously didn't seem to care what Avani thought because she dropped the mouse and started eating it. Avani pulled a face and turned away.

Arrkun laughed. "She's got to eat too," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but does she have to do it in front of me?" Avani asked, glancing at the catowl and then quickly looking away again.

"We should eat too," Arrkun decided, pulling some food out of his pack.

"No thanks, I've completely lost my appetite," Avani said. He handed her a biscuit anyway, and then suddenly her appetite was back at the site of the soft bread. "Never mind, I lied." She accepted the biscuit and bit into it, discovering it wasn't so soft anymore. A little disappointed, she finished anyway. While she ate, she doggedly ignored Tora.

After the three had finished their meal, Avani stood, pulling her pack onto her shoulders. Arrkun joined her. They climbed down the stairs off the porch, and Tora mewed at them, as if to ask where they were going. "Come on Tora," Avani called, but the catowl stayed put. "Fine then, stay there. We'll come back."

They continued walking, and then suddenly Avani saw a flash out of the corner of her eye, and Tora was landing lightly on her shoulder, her long tail curling around Avani's neck. She purred softly as she rubbed her face on the girl's cheek. Avani smiled. "Changed your mind, huh?" she patted the cat's head, and then continued. At first she felt as if she had to be very careful not to make any sudden movements, afraid she might knock that catowl off, but Tora balanced expertly on her shoulder no matter what she did. Eventually, Avani relaxed. The three made their way across the city slowly, heading for the last wall they hadn't passed through.

Just as Avani was getting tired of studying the buildings around her, she found herself face to face with the stone wall. They approached the train tunnel, which was identical to the one they had closed up on the other side of the city, except for this one's track was still intact. The bottom of the tunnel was just a little higher than she could reach, but Arrkun, who was about a head taller than her, could reach. He grabbed onto the ledge and pulled himself up easily. Tora lifted off Avani's shoulder with a flap of her feathered wings, disappearing into the tunnel. Arrkun turned and crouched down near the tunnel's edge, reaching a hand down to help her up. Suddenly she felt an extreme sense of independence and said, "It's alright, I've got it." She earthbended the ground under her feet, making it level with the tunnel, and strode inside.

"I could have helped you," Arrkun said, as he stood up and turned to her.

"It's fine," Avani said, feeling a little bad for denying his help. What had made her feel the necessity to show him she could do it on her own? Shaking the strange feeling off, she walked deeper into the tunnel. After a couple of seconds, Arrkun followed.

On the other side, Tora was perched on the track, her tail flicking impatiently. She stared at them, seeming to say, _what took you so long? _She leaped back onto Avani's shoulder, almost unbalancing the earthbender. "Please, warn me before you do that," she told the catowl, who mewed apologetically.

They continued out of the tunnel, to the massive upper ring of Ba Sing Se. This part of the city was much nicer than the middle ring, and it seemed people had recently been there. Construction on new buildings had obviously started, abandoned mid project. Repair to other buildings had been done, making the city almost look complete again. Almost.

It was still eerily quiet, making Avani shiver. It was almost worse, seeing that people had been there so recently, and then disappeared. They passed a tea shop, with a faded sign proclaiming it the Jasmine Dragon. When they stumbled across the palace, Avani stared at its withered grounds. It obviously hadn't been tended to for a while, and the bushes and trees were overgrown, the grass long and tangled. They passed many empty houses, one with a wind chime that clinked softly as they passed. "You know what, I think it's time we get going. This place is depressing," Arrkun muttered, breaking the eerie silence.

"I couldn't agree with you more. Let's go get the water out of the lower ring and get going," Avani agreed.

"Avani, I don't think we're going to be able to fix the lower ring," Arrkun said with a sigh.

She turned to him, a curious expression on her face. "Why not? We can fix it the same way we did the middle ring."

"There's a lot more water, and I'm only one bender. I think only a fully realized avatar could do that alone," Arrkun said.

"Oh," Avani said, trying to hide her disappointment, and embarrassment. Why hadn't she realized that? She had saw that the amount of water from the night before had almost been too much for one bender to handle. "Well, then I guess it's time to leave then," she muttered. Glancing up, she said, "We can go over that side, sense we're heading north. That way we don't have to go all the way around the city after backtracking out of it."

"Good idea," Arrkun agreed, and together they started towards the far wall, Tora circling lazily overhead or riding on Avani's shoulder.

* * *

><p><em>Eona<br>Farther inland, at another nearby Earthkingdom town_

Eona pushed open the doors of the cantina, wondering what it would be like inside. She had never been to a cantina before. Glancing around, she claimed a table near the back of the room, and signaled for a waiter. She requested a hot meal and something to drink. The waiter nodded, and moved away, returning a few minutes later with her food.

Eona began eating quietly, studying the crowds around her. Her cultured life was so much different from the lives of the people around her, it fascinated her. As she took a sip from her drink, a man entered the cantina, glanced around, and seemed to stare right at her. She pretended not to notice, but an uneasy feeling coursed through her. She couldn't help but wonder if the man recognized her, even this far from the fire nation. He approached her table silently, his eyes not moving from her once. _Great, _she thought. She slipped to the edge of her seat, ready to be on her feet and ready to fight at a moment's notice. She would have reached for the sword strapped to her back, but that would be too obvious, so instead she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin, wiping away the grease from the meal. He hands had to have something to do, or they'd betray her nervousness.

The man came to stand next to her table, staring down at her. "Can I help you?" She asked politely, trying not to let her emotions show.

"Yeah, you can, by moving out of my seat," the man ordered, sounding pissed.

She took another sip of her drink, and then placed it down on the table, taking her time. "Your seat? I don't remember it being reserved," she pointed out, sounding innocently confused.

The man rubbed a hand across his face, looking exasperated. "Look, sense your new in town, I'll explain it to you nicely. Every night, at this time, I come here to eat, and I always sit here. Everybody knows not to sit there, because I beat the crap out of anybody that does, got it?"

Eona's eyes narrowed. She knew she should just back down, let him have his precious table, but she hated people who thought they could push others around just because they had a bigger fist. She also really hated being told what to do. "Well I had no idea. Like you said, I'm new here. It won't happen again. Why don't you sit somewhere else tonight, and then you can sit here tomorrow?"

The man literally growled, sounding like an armadilolion. "Obviously your too dimwitted to get it, so I'll say it nice and slow. Get. Out. Of. My. SEAT!"

She stood slowly, stepping in front of the man. The man was surprisingly short, allowing Eona to look into his eyes. "I am not the dimwitted one, my friend. You're the one picking a fight over a table in a rundown, pathetic cantina." They stared at each other for a minute in silence, each of them waiting for the other to back down.

"Hey!" somebody called. They turned to see the waiter standing with her hands on her hips, staring at them angrily. "If you're gonna fight, take it ou'side. Nobody's gonna mess up my place tonight!" she ordered.

Realizing just how stupid of a fight she was about to get herself into, Eona turned back to the man and said, "Don't worry, I was just leaving." She pulled a couple of gold pieces out of her bag and tossed them to the waiter, who caught them. The man's eyes widened in surprise at the money. She eyed him one more time, and then strolled outside, her head held high.

It was dark outside now, the last light from the sun fading in the distance. She hadn't made it far, when she heard the guy's voice behind her. "You know, you've got a lot of money in that bag. It's not safe to carry that much money around… maybe I should remove its burden from you. Wouldn't that be a gentlemanly thing to do?" She turned. His big face was plastered with a smirk, and two short swords were clutched in his grip.

She grabbed the hilt of her newly acquired sword, pulling it from its sheath and slipping into a light stance. "I'd like to see you try, bud. I've fought a lot worse than you. Maybe you should just turn around and head back inside," she warned.

With an angry yell, he charged at her, swinging the swords aimlessly. He had obviously no training whatsoever, which made Eona sigh. _This is too easy, _she thought as she sidestepped his attack, not even bothering to raise her sword. There was no need. The man stumbled past her, whipped around, and came at her again.

She continued to dodge his blows for a while more, making him flustered and even more angry. When she was done humiliating the guy, she shifted, holding her ground. He charged at her again, his swords raised above his head. He swiped down hard at her head. She met his blades with her own, pressing up. He was stronger than her, she'd give him that, but she didn't have to hold him off for long. A swift, hard kick to his gut sent him stumbling backwards, before he fell with a thud on his butt. He dropped his swords, clutching at his middle.

She walked towards him, pointing her sword at his throat. He grabbed halfheartedly for his swords, obviously more concerned about the pain he felt than the weapons. She kicked them out of reach, just to be sure. He scooted away, suddenly a coward, but she followed. "So who's the dimwitted fool now? I was willing to challenge you, a lone woman. You would think that and the sword strapped to my back would be sign enough I'm not somebody who takes threats lightly." He groaned, crouching in front of her. She smirked, enjoying his pain. "Remember this, idiot, and try to think before you attack next time."

After a minute more, she backed away, replacing her sword in its sheath on her back. She scooped up his swords, and started back down the path, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he didn't follow. He eventually stood and walked back into the cantina, obviously having no interest in attacking her again. After a few minutes, her smirk faded as she realized she had stood there as he had suffered, actually enjoying his pain. _When did I become such a horrible person? _She said, inwardly chastising herself. She couldn't help but compare herself to her sister.

"You know, I don't know many people around here with that kind of skill," someone from the side of the path said, shocking her from her thoughts. _Great, what now? _She thought with a sigh.

"Who's there?" she demanded, raising the stolen blades, her golden gaze raking the surrounding trees carefully.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to mug you or anything," a man said, stepping out of the shadows, his hands raised submissively. He was tall and thin, and well dressed. He looked pretty important. "I've been looking to hire someone with you skills, and happened to notice you fighting that man. I was impressed."

She relaxed, letting her arms fall back to her sides and stood up straight. "Well, thanks… I guess," she muttered, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

The man relaxed as well, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Would you be interested in doing a little job for me? I pay well," he asked.

Eona was about to decline. She didn't really need the money, she already had plenty, and she wasn't really interested in working for the man, but then she stopped to think about it. Eventually, the money she had would run out, and having a job would mean she had something to do with her life. It would be easier to move on, forget her past, if she had something to focus her mind on. "What do you need me to do?"

The man smiled, showing off a set of perfect teeth. "Wonderful. Come with me, and I will explain everything over a cup of tea." She followed him back up the path, wondering what she had gotten herself into. "By the way, what's your name?"

Realizing if he was a nobleman, he may just recognize the name of the previous crown princess of the Fire Nation, she quickly came up with a different name. "Hikari," she replied.

"Well Hikari, I'm about to make your life wonderful," the man promised. Part of her couldn't help but doubt it. "I'm Ilesh, by the way," he added, almost as an afterthought. He led her to a large house deep in the forest. Climbing the porch steps, he unlocked the front door and allowed her in. "You know what? It's late. Why don't I have one of my maids show you to a guest room, and tomorrow we can discuss business, alright?"

She glanced at him, and then sighed. "Fine," she said quietly.

He smiled again, and then called for a maid. Two identical looking women entered the room and bowed in unison. "Yes sir?" the both asked, their voices eerily in sync. She stared at them, on eyebrow raised, feeling just a bit creeped out.

"Girls, this is a new friend of mine, Hikari. Show her to a room, and make sure she's comfortable for the night," Ilesh ordered, and then he walked away, leaving Eona alone with the two maids.

"Please, follow us," they said, still speaking at the same time. The turned and glided down a hall in the opposite direction of Ilesh. Eona reluctantly followed. They stopped in front of a room, and slid the door open to reveal the lavish room inside. "Does this room please you?" they asked.

"Um… yes. Thank you," Eona said, entering the room. They followed. "I think I'll be fine now, thank you for your assistance," she told them, hoping they would leave.

"Of course, mistress. Good night." They bowed together and slinked out, leaving Eona alone. Though they were creepy, the conversation reminded Eona of the maid she had left, Faia. She had always been so kind to Eona, and though she had never told Faia, she had always been grateful.

Eona unstrapped her sword and dropped it on the large bed. She couldn't help but notice the bed was imported, from the Fire Nation, of all places. Though its curtains and coverings were green themed instead of red, Eona would have recognized the large, four-poster bed anywhere. It was the same style as the one in her old room in the palace. She sighed, hating all the reminders of home in this lavish house.

She threw her satchel on the bed as well, and then turned to face the wall opposite, to discover a full length mirror on the wall there. She stared at her reflection, and how much it had changed since the last time she had laid eyes on it. She was dressed in a simple green tunic and trousers now, instead of lavish gold and red robes. Her hair was in a tight ponytail, instead of pinned up tightly and adorned with a crown. Her golden eyes were the same though, and she stared into their depths. She remembered thinking as Faia had helped her prepare for that meeting if she would look differently the next time she saw herself. _Well, I definitely do, but not for the reasons I was expecting, _she thought. _Instead of changing because I became Firelord, I changed because I became a renegade, lost and alone, in an unfamiliar land. Not what I was expecting at all._

She forced herself to turn away from the mirror when she noticed the tears building in her eyes. She angrily rubbed at her eyes, wiping the tears away. She wouldn't cry over her lost future, never again. Taking a deep breath, she promised herself that. _No more tears. Never again._

She pulled her tunic off, replacing it with the dress she had grabbed from her closet back at the palace. She had started using it as a nightgown, sense she hadn't thought to grab any night-clothes. She slipped under the silk covers, realizing just how much she had missed a real bed. She stretched out, knocking her belongings onto the floor below, where she had left her clothes. She buried her face in the soft pillow for a minute, and then turned to look out the window, staring at the full moon until she dozed off.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's notes: I just couldn't wait to introduce Tora! She's actually the real main character of this story... XD just kidding. Please, if you read, post a review or something! I love hearing from my readers! Thanks for reading! :)<strong>

Chapter 4

_Eona  
>Earth kingdom Noble's home<em>

Two soft knocks on the door to her bedroom woke Eona. For a minute, she was a bit disoriented, not sure where she was. She almost called out to Faia, telling her to leave her be for a few more hours, but then she remembered she was no longer in the palace.

She stretched, her eyes closed, feeling pleasantly comfortable, a soft smile on her lips. Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains on the bed, not enough to keep her awake, but enough to warm her. She suddenly had no intention of answering the knock, wanting to stay wrapped in the comfortable silk sheets. She had just started to doze again when the knock came again. Her smile disappeared, and she sighed. "What?" she asked, sounding slightly irritated.

"Mistress? Ilesh has instructed us to help you prepare for the day. He's waiting for you. May we enter?" Eona recognized the voices of the two maids from the night before. She rolled over onto her back and then sat up, prying her eyes open. She studied the room again, able to see it better in daylight. It was lavishly furnished, the large bed she now rested in the centerpiece of the room. Large doors opened to a private porch. Sunlight filtered through them, the source of the warmth she had felt earlier. There was a dresser next to the mirror she had noticed the night before, and near the foot of the bed there was a bench seat pushed up against it. A small, low table sat next to the side of the bed. Other tables boasted a variety of plants, bringing life to the room, along with several paintings. "Mistress?" the maids asked again.

"Yes, come in," Eona said, slipping out of bed. Her bare feet rested on a soft, deep green rug. The rest of the floor was wood. She stood, stretching, as the doors slid open.

"We bring a gift from Ilesh," the two maids said as they entered. Between them, they were carrying a few packages, wrapped in simple brown paper. "He told us to tell you that as his employee, he wants to provide you with the best supplies. Also, he says that we are to serve you for the duration of your stay." They bowed, lifting the presents to her.

"Um… okay," she muttered, the gifts taking her by surprise. She accepted the gifts, and laid them on the bed behind her.

"Please, open them, mistress," one of the maids said, speaking separately from the other one for the first time since Eona had arrived. She glanced at them, one eyebrow raised in surprise, and then turned back to the unexpected gifts. Shrugging slightly, she pulled the paper carefully off the packages one by one.

Once the last piece of the paper was removed, Eona examined the contents. Spread out before her on the bed was a black two pieced tunic and belt, very practical but nicely made, obviously for traveling. There was a nice dress, in shades of dark green. A long coat in a similar dark color looked like it could be worn with either garment. There was a set of soft slippers, obviously for the dress, and more practical boots. There was also a hairbrush, a large traveling bag, a small pile of jewelry in similar coloring to the dress, and set of nightclothes, which surprised Eona. _How did he know I needed these? _She wondered, feeling a bit unnerved. "They're nice," she said when the stares of the two maids urged her to comment.

"Yes mistress, they're the finest. Ilesh had his wife found them for you, earlier this morning," the maids informed her, speaking in unison again. For some reason, hearing that Ilesh hadn't picked them himself was a relief. "The dress is for this morning, and for any other formal moment you may run in to on your travels. He wanted you to have something nice to wear when you meet his family."

"Well then, let's not keep him waiting any longer. I should get ready. Thank you for bringing these," Eona told the girls, dismissing them.

"Will you need any assistance preparing?" they asked.

Eona shook her head. She could get dressed on her own. "No thank you. Wait outside." The two bowed again, and then slipped outside, leaving Eona alone. Holding the dress up to look at it, Eona discovered it actually had two parts; the outer most layer separated easily in her hands, the darker second piece falling to the ground. She laid the top layer on the bed, and gathered up the second part, laying it next to it.

After undressing, she gathered up the dress, and slipped it on. It fit snugly, the long flowing skirts barely scraping the floor below. It had a low collar, ensuring it wouldn't be visible with the top piece, and no sleeves.

The outer most layer was the lightest, with long sleeves. She picked it up, and discovered two pins on the side. Undoing them, she slipped her arms into the billowy sleeves. They just reached her knuckles, making it easy to hide her hands in them. Around the sleeve cuffs was dark embroidery. The layer's skirt was cut at a slant starting at the hip, revealing the layer underneath, which was a few shades darker. The deep green complemented the top layer's color nicely, and matched the embroidery well. She wrapped the front shut, tucking one layer underneath the other, and then redid the pins.

Staring at her reflection, she couldn't help but like the dress, even though she had never been a fan of fancy wear. It was simple yet elegant, not nearly as fancy as what she was used to, but in her opinion it made her look better than any of the stuff she had worn back in the Fire Nation. She had thought she wouldn't look good in green, but the shades made her raven hair look even darker, and turned her eyes a bright coppery color.

Reaching up to brush her loose hair away from her face, she glanced around the room, grabbed the hairbrush from the bed, and began taming her wild hair into a tight braid. She then pinned it up into a bun, and added a headband she found among the jewelry. It set nicely behind her loose bangs, making her simple hairdo look nicer than it was. Adding earrings, and placing her feet in the slippers, she felt ready.

She stepped out of her room, leaving it a mess. She'd take care of it later. The maids bowed to her and said, "Follow us to breakfast, miss." They turned and started back down the hall, Eona in tow. They led her to an open dining hall, with a nice table big enough to sit many guests. Ilesh was already seated at the head of the table, a nice woman about his age sitting on his right, who Eona assumed was his wife.

"Hikari, join us," Ilesh greeted, standing. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you," she said gratefully. The maids pulled out the seat across from Ilesh's wife, and Eona sat. "I must thank you for all of your gifts, Ilesh. They're wonderful," she added.

"You're welcome. Only the best for my employees, right Jaya?" Ilesh said.

The woman smiled with a nod. "My husband insists on supplying only the finest for his guests, and those he hires. What job did he offer you?" she asked.

"Oh…" Eona started, still having no clue what her job would be. Ilesh jumped in, saving her from having to answer.

"She's for a special job. We haven't discussed the details yet," he informed his wife, who nodded. Just then, two young men walked in. They looked like brothers, the older of the two about her age, the other about five years younger. "Boys, join us. Hikari, these are my sons, Charan, and Harshul." He gestured to the older boy first, and then the younger.

The two bowed in turn, and then the younger of the two waved enthusiastically. "Hello!" he exclaimed. The older boy smiled, but remained silent. They both had brown hair, Charan's slightly darker. Harshul had big chocolate-brown eyes like his mom, and Charan's were a nice hazel color.

"It's an honor to meet you," she told them. The two claimed seats, Charan sitting next to her, his brother across from him. Another door opened, allowing the smell of cooking food waft into the room, and then five people walked out, carrying plates of food. They placed them in front of the people at the table, and then five more filled their empty cups with steaming tea.

They ate silently, and then when they finished, Jaya excused herself, taking an irritated Harshul with her. Charan stayed, but remained silent as they talked. Ilesh turned to Eona. "So, Hikari, let me tell you why I hired you." _Finally, _she thought, setting her tea cup down. "Recently a man broke into our home and stole a very valuable and precious family heirloom. I hired a man to track him down, and he followed him all the way to Omashu. Then the thief discovered he was being followed, confronted my man, and severely injured him. I've been looking for somebody since then that has the right skill set to retrieve this item for me, when I met you."

"So you want me to find the thief and retrieve this heirloom for you?" Eona asked.

"Exactly," Ilesh confirmed with a nod. "I'll pay you well for it. I put a bounty on the man's head, but nobody's managed to stop him yet.

Eona nodded, taking this information in. _So I'm doing a bounty hunter's job now, _she thought._ That's a new low for me._ "How am I supposed to find him?" she asked.

"The thief is reportedly quite tall, with darker skin and gray hair. He's younger than he looks though, and a great fighter. My sources tell me he's heading north again, following the coast line. Why he would come back this way, I have no idea. He's probably trying to sell the heirloom, but with my seal on it, it'll probably be hard for him to sell it; it's obvious he stole it from me, and most people wouldn't want to get mixed up in that business. If he has managed to sell it, I ask that you see if you can track it down," Ilesh requested.

"That shouldn't be too difficult," Eona said.

"So it's settled then?" Ilesh asked. Eona nodded. "Good. You should leave soon, if you want to catch him. He was last spotted a few towns south from here."

Finishing her tea, she stood, "Well then, I better get going. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll return as soon as I can." She bowed to him, something she wasn't used to, and then left the room.

Once back in her room, she changed quickly into the tunic Ilesh had given her, briefly wondering why he had insisted she wear the dress to breakfast. _I changed right back out of it. That was pointless. _She then began placing all of her belongings in the larger pack. "I'm surprised," came a voice from behind. Eona glanced over her shoulder to see Charan leaning against the door frame.

Turning back to the bed, she grabbed the sword and started strapping it on. "Why?"

"My father hired somebody else to track down that stupid piece of junk. And a girl, no less," Charan clarified.

Eona couldn't help but feel a spark of anger at that comment. "Do you think I can't handle the job?" she asked, letting her irritation show.

"Do you want the truth, or the nice lie I should tell you?" Charan asked, sounding a bit sarcastic.

"The truth."

"No, then. You can't possibly beat this guy alone. The man my father sent before you was older, stronger, a great fighter. Your one girl, probably no older than eighteen, and I'm guessing you don't have much experience with that sword," Charan said, his tone blunt.

Eona turned towards him, her anger flaring. "You know what? If you feel so sure that I can't beat him, why don't you go in my place? I can't imagine you'd do much better. Being a nobleman's son -especially one like Ilesh who hands his problems off to someone else instead of manning up and taking care of them himself- you probably don't even know how to hold this sword." She gestured angrily at the hilt protruding from behind her shoulder.

Charan raised one eyebrow, smirking slightly. "That's who you think I am? A spoiled brat?" he asked, his tone void of any malice.

"That's exactly what I think," Eona confirmed.

"You're right."

Eona blinked, completely surprised by that comment. Her anger deflated a bit, replaced by confusion. "You are? I mean, yeah, you are!" she said, trying to not let her confusion show. She couldn't let him win. _Why in the world are you agreeing with me?! _she wondered silently.

"You're right, my father would never take care of his own problems. He hates conflict, unless it's a debate for political power. He expected me to grow up, exactly like him, the perfect child. So I would be a spoiled brat unable to hold a sword properly, if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands. I was determined not to end up like my father, so I decided the first step I needed to take was to learn how to defend myself. It took me some time, but I found a master, and I learned," Charan clarified.

"Oh… Well then, that more than qualifies you to take my place," Eona said, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn't help but admire Charan for taking control of his situation like that, and was desperately trying to remain angry at him.

"But then, that would leave you without a job. So, I've decided I'm going with you," Charan announced.

Eona stared at him for a minute, once again surprised. "Is that why you came here? To ask if you could come?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, you have a weird way of asking it." After a pause, she added, "What would your father say if he found out you were planning this?"

Charan's face darkened. "My father thinks I'm off to an all-boys private school in Omashu. He won't miss me. I just said goodbye. My stuff's waiting on the porch outside."

"Oh I see, I'm just your ticket out of going off to some horrible school," Eona said with a slight smirk. He stared back, one eyebrow raised, not denying it. Her smirk faded, and she sighed. "I don't blame you. Private schools suck, I should know. Fine. You can come."

He grinned. "Great. Wait, you've been to a private school?" he asked, looking surprised.

"Uh… yeah," she hadn't realized she had said that. She had, back in the Fire Nation. Recovering quickly, she added, "Didn't expect that from a girl like me, did you?"

"Nope," he said, being bluntly honest again. _He seems to have a habit of doing that, _she thought. "What's taking you so long? We really should get going," he pressed.

She rolled her eyes, turned, grabbed her bag, and swung it over the shoulder opposite of her sword. "If you hadn't barged in here and basically called me a weakling, I would have left by now," she told him. She pushed past him, hearing him laugh lightly, and then he followed.

_Avani  
>Somewhere between Ba Sing Se and the northern shore of the earth kingdom<em>

Avani strolled along, her gaze fixed on the rock she was kicking in front of her. The dusty landscape around her was hot and dry, and very boring. Tora rested on her shoulder as usual, and Arrkun walked a few paces ahead of her. She desperately wanted to ask Arrkun, _how much longer? _But didn't want to sound like a little kid, so she kept herself busy with the rock.

Suddenly Tora crouched lower on her shoulder, letting out a pitiful moan. Deadly sharp claws slipped out of her padded paws, digging into Avani's shirt. Thankfully, they didn't catch her skin. "What's wrong, Tora?" Avani asked, reaching up to stroke the catowl soothingly. As she did, she caught a glimpse of the sky above, and looked up. "Oh… that's what. Arrkun!" She hurried to catch up to the waterbender, and then grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Avani?" he questioned, turning towards her.

"A storm's coming. A big one. We have to find shelter, now," Avani explained quickly. Arrkun glanced up to find that the previously empty sky was now slowly building with clouds.

"Where did those clouds come from?" Arrkun wondered out loud. "I swear the sky had been clear seconds ago."

He hadn't expected an explanation, but Avani quickly supplied one. "Ever since the war, the weather hasn't been normal here. Those clouds are building way too fast. I've seen it before. And notice the air? It feels heavier. I don't like it, and neither does Tora. We have to find shelter, quickly."

Arrkun stared up at the sky for a minute, watching the clouds, one hand shielding his eyes from the sun. They _were_ getting bigger, as if he was watching a storm develop in fast forward. It was an unearthly, menacing sight, making goose bumps rise on his arms. "Yeah, you're right," he muttered grimly, and then began looking around for shelter. She too searched the horizon for anything they could use for shelter. "There," he suddenly said, pointing at a mound of earth in the distance. "That might work. Don't know what it is, but it just might." She nodded, and the two started moving towards it, as the wind began picking up.

It seemed they had made hardly any progress when the sun disappeared behind the clouds, and the gentle breeze that had started became stronger, whistling across the dusty ground, picking up sand and dirt. Tora nestled herself in the curve of Avani's neck, as if she could hide from the storm above. Avani kept an eye on the weather, as if watching it could prevent it from getting worse. Glancing up again, she was amazed to see that the sky was covered in clouds as far as she could see. Angry, rolling black clouds. She looked away, fear leaping through her heart. _We're not going to make it, _she thought, trying to come up with different solutions.

"We're not going to make it!" Arrkun called back to her, as if he had read her mind.

"I know!" she said, having to yell to be heard over the wind.

"So what do we do?" he asked.

"I'm thinking!" She was, but she couldn't come up with anything. She stared down at the earth below her, wishing a cave or something would just appear. Then she slapped her forehead, realizing just how much of an idiot she was. "Arrkun! I can make shelter!" she yelled, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of thunder. She saw the glimpse of lightning just out of the corner of her eye, the cause of the thunder.

"What?" he called back as the sound faded. She repeated herself, but he still looked confused. He took a few steps towards her, when the lightning struck again. The flash blinded her, and she clamped her hands over her ears as the thunder crashed over her. She shuddered, fear racing through her, making her heart race. _That was close, _she thought. _Way too close._ On her shoulder, Tora let out a terrified hiss, flattening herself even smaller against Avani's shoulder. The sound faded, and she opened her eyes. The lightning had blinded her temporarily, so she blinked, trying to clear her vision. As the dark splotches cleared, rain began falling- sudden, horrible, torrential rain. She glanced around, looking for Arrkun, when she realized he was laying on the ground in front of her.

"Arrkun?" she said, stepping closer. He didn't reply, didn't even move. Suddenly, she realized what had happened. The lighting hadn't missed as she had originally thought. Her eyes widened in fear and shock, and she hurried to his side, kneeling down next to his limp form. She gently touched him, her eyes searching for the rise and fall of his chest. _No… wake up Arrkun. You can't be dead. _She knew it was highly unlikely for someone to survive being struck by lightning, but she still refused to believe he was gone. Sorrow filled her, overwhelming her, mixing with the uncontrollable fear she already felt. She didn't even notice Tora detach herself from her shoulder and curl up near Arrkun's limp form. She just kept staring at his face, waiting, hoping.

After a few minutes, as the rain kept pouring down, soaking the three completely, she tore her gaze away, screaming at the sky. She was suddenly angry, at everyone, at all she had lost in the past month. The loss of her newfound friend was the last draw. Something changed in her, allowing her emotions to melt away, replaced by a sudden, cold clarity. She suddenly felt immensely powerful, powerful enough to fight the storm above them, to force it away.

That's when she noticed the large funnel cloud reaching for the ground, the beginnings of a tornado. With another flash of lighting, it touched down, sending a spray of rock and dirt into the air at its base. It began moving across the horizon, slowly making its way closer. She stared at it, not really caring anymore, only mutely aware of the danger it presented. She had the overwhelming sensation of being detached, as if suddenly she wasn't actually experiencing this, but more watching from a distance as it happened to somebody else.

With power she didn't know she had, she created a protective bubble around them, made of air, water, she didn't know. Instinctively she knew it would protect them for a little while, but not permanently. Then she stood and spread her hands out in front of her. A crack appeared in the ground, quickly circling them, following the perimeter of their protection. Then, she clenched her hands into fists, and with a stomp, they plummeted several feet down. She glanced up, and the earth shifted to cover the whole, leaving small places for air to enter but nothing else. To solve the sudden darkness inside the shelter she had created, she opened her hand again, and a flame erupted there. She rested it on the ground, where it grew larger. More flame appeared on the walls where she pointed, and, slowly, her surroundings were lit by a flickering, warm light.

As it began to sink in that she was now safe, she stood staring at the flames for a minute, before her knees gave out and she slumped to the ground. She glanced around, not understanding how she had managed these things. The earthbending didn't surprise her; she had done things like that before. It was her sudden ability to use other elements as well. Where did that come from?

She stared at the flames as they burned, slowly shrinking again. Her numbness began to fade, allowing her emotions to pour back in, filling the void inside of her. _Arrkun… _she thought. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, fatigue making her limbs feel like jelly. She moved towards his body, where Tora still lay curled up next to him. She crouched next to him, still not sure if he was alive or dead. She bit her lip, fighting tears, trying to figure out what to do next.

Under the light of the fires she had created, she could see better than she had above. He was lying on his stomach, slightly crunched up, as if his legs had given out from underneath him and he had fallen. There was a burn mark on his shoulder, probably where the lightning had hit him. He was paler than she remembered too. When she discovered he was breathing, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. _He's alive, _she thought, feeling a little hopeful.

Suddenly Tora moved away from his side and started licking his cheek, wiping away rainwater. That's when she realized he was soaking wet, and probably pretty cold. She pulled his pack off his shoulder. One strap was burnt through, leaving the pack hanging from one strap. She set it aside, and then as gently as she could, she rolled him onto his back and then scooted him closer to the fire. _He has a sleeping bag in his pack, right? _She thought, remembering he had slept in one the night before. She moved back to it, opening it and studying its contents.

Surprisingly, the pack had kept everything mostly dry inside. She pulled the rolled up sleeping bag out, and then noticed medical supplies in a small bundle underneath. She pulled those out too, not sure what to do with them but knowing that he needed medical attention.

Carrying the two items back to him, she sat down next to him again, and then started examining the bundle's contents. There were bandages, a small knife, and several strange smelling creams with no indication to what they did. Then she noticed on the lid of one of the bottles faded writing, barely legible. It was hard to make out, especially since the lights above were slowly winking out, one by one, with no fuel to keep them burning. Squinting, she leaned closer to the main fire, angling the bottle so the light caught it just right. When she made it out, she smiled, realizing it said one word. _Burns._ "Perfect!" she exclaimed, making Tora look at her curiously.

Knowing his shirt would get in the way of cleaning and bandaging his wound, she decided to remove it. It was destroyed anyway, a huge whole burnt away above his wound. She discovered it pulled off over his head, but that wasn't going to happen, not with the huge burn on his shoulder. She didn't dare lift that arm to remove the sleeve. _Well… _she thought, thinking of another solution. _The sleeve's barely hanging on anyway. Sorry Arrkun. _She grabbed the knife from the kit, and began cutting away the remnants of the sleeve. Once it was gone, it was easy to pull the rest off over his head without risking his injury.

She turned to Arrkun's shoulder, the angry red burn suddenly intimidating. She didn't really want to touch it, partly because she was worried she'd hurt him more, partly because she wasn't sure her stomach could handle looking at it that long. But, she was nothing if not strong, so she clenched her teeth and got to work smearing the fragrant cream on the wound.

Once that was done, she let out a sigh. Now for the hard part. Getting the bandages around him would require lifting him, while wrapping the wound at the same time. She couldn't help but wish for a second pair of hands. "What if I…" she muttered, and then stood. As carefully as she could, she propped him up using earthbending in a way that allowed easy access to his shoulder, but kept him upright without hurting him more. She quickly got to work wrapping the wound. She quickly discovered how awkward a place the wound was, making it difficult to get the bandages to stay. Her complete lack of experience didn't help. Eventually, she managed to get the wound covered, along with his chest and most of his upper arm. They were tight enough, she figured, and kept the wound clean, so they were good enough.

Then she thought of the sleeping bag again. Carefully allowing him to slip back down to the ground, she laid him on his back. She grabbed the sleeping bag, unrolled it, and with no way of getting him inside it, laid it on top of him like a blanket. Tora tried to climb onto him, but not wanting the catowl to bother him, she picked her up and set her down away from him. "No, Tora. You can sleep with me," she muttered, before moving towards her own pack where she had deposited it sometime earlier.

She pulled out the sleeping bag, laying it next to Arrkun. She quickly climbed inside, where she fell asleep immediately. She didn't even notice Tora curl up close to her, purring softly.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's notes: New chapters are coming a bit slower, but I promise, I will update! Starting school is making things difficult.<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

**I realized that somewhere in the writing of this, I changed Arrkun's name. It was originally Arrluk. I don't know what one I like better, but I would like to make it consistent. Which one do you as readers like best?**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

_Eona  
>Earth kingdom Noble's home<em>

Two soft knocks on the door to her bedroom woke Eona. For a minute, she was a bit disoriented, not sure where she was. She almost called out to Faia, telling her to leave her be for a few more hours, but then she remembered she was no longer in the palace.

She stretched, her eyes closed, feeling pleasantly comfortable, a soft smile on her lips. Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains on the bed, not enough to keep her awake, but enough to warm her. She suddenly had no intention of answering the knock, wanting to stay wrapped in the comfortable silk sheets. She had just started to doze again when the knock came again. Her smile disappeared, and she sighed. "What?" she asked, sounding slightly irritated.

"Mistress? Ilesh has instructed us to help you prepare for the day. He's waiting for you. May we enter?" Eona recognized the voices of the two maids from the night before. She rolled over onto her back and then sat up, prying her eyes open. She studied the room again, able to see it better in daylight. It was lavishly furnished, the large bed she now rested in the centerpiece of the room. Large doors opened to a private poarch. Sunlight filtered through them, the source of the warmth she had felt earlier. There was a dresser next to the mirror she had noticed the night before, and near the foot of the bed there was a bench seat pushed up against it. A small, low table sat next to the side of the bed. Other tables boasted a variety of plants, bringing life to the room, along with several paintings. "Mistress?" the maids asked again.

"Yes, come in," Eona said, slipping out of bed. Her bare feet rested on a soft, deep green rug. The rest of the floor was wood. She stood, stretching, as the doors slid open.

"We bring a gift from Ilesh," the two maids said as they entered. Between them, they were carrying a few packages, wrapped in simple brown paper. "He told us to tell you that as his employee, he wants to provide you with the best supplies. Also, he says that we are to serve you for the duration of your stay." They bowed, lifting the presents to her.

"Um… okay," she muttered, the gifts taking her by surprise. She accepted the gifts, and laid them on the bed behind her.

"Please, open them, mistress," one of the maids said, speaking separately from the other one for the first time since Eona had arrived. She glanced at them, one eyebrow raised in surprise, and then turned back to the unexpected gifts. Shrugging slightly, she pulled the paper carefully off the packages one by one.

Once the last piece of the paper was removed, Eona examined the contents. Spread out before her on the bed was a black two pieced tunic and belt, very practical but nicely made, obviously for traveling. There was a nice dress, in shades of dark green. A long coat in a similar dark color looked like it could be worn with either garment. There was a set of soft slippers, obviously for the dress, and more practical boots. There was also a hairbrush, a large traveling bag, a small pile of jewelry in similar coloring to the dress, and set of nightclothes, which surprised Eona. _How did he know I needed these? _She wondered, feeling a bit unnerved. "They're nice," she said when the stares of the two maids urged her to comment.

"Yes mistress, they're the finest. Ilesh had his wife find them for you, earlier this morning," the maids informed her, speaking in unison again. For some reason, hearing that Ilesh hadn't picked them himself was a relief. "The dress is for this morning, and for any other formal moment you may run in to on your travels. He wanted you to have something nice to wear when you meet his family."

"Well then, let's not keep him waiting any longer. I should get ready. Thank you for bringing these," Eona told the girls, dismissing them.

"Will you need any assistance preparing?" they asked.

Eona shook her head. She could get dressed on her own. "No thank you. Wait outside." The two bowed again, and then slipped outside, leaving Eona alone. Holding the dress up to look at it, Eona discovered it actually had two parts; the outer most layer separated easily in her hands, the darker second piece falling to the ground. She laid the top layer on the bed, and gathered up the second part, laying it next to it.

After undressing, she gathered up the dress, and slipped it on. It fit snugly, the long flowing skirts barely scraping the floor below. It had a low collar, ensuring it wouldn't be visible with the top piece, and no sleeves.

The outer most layer was the lightest, with long sleeves. She picked it up, and discovered two pins on the side. Undoing them, she slipped her arms into the billowy sleeves. They just reached her knuckles, making it easy to hide her hands in them. Around the sleeve cuffs was dark embroidery. The layer's skirt was cut at a slant starting at the hip, revealing the layer underneath, which was a few shades darker. The deep green complemented the top layer's color nicely, and matched the embroidery well. She wrapped the front shut, tucking one layer underneath the other, and then redid the pins.

Staring at her reflection, she couldn't help but like the dress, even though she had never been a fan of fancy wear. It was simple yet elegant, not nearly as fancy as what she was used to, but in her opinion it made her look better than any of the stuff she had worn back in the Fire Nation. She had thought she wouldn't look good in green, but the shades made her raven hair look even darker, and turned her eyes a bright coppery color.

Reaching up to brush her loose hair away from her face, she glanced around the room, grabbed the hairbrush from the bed, and began taming her wild hair into a tight braid. She then pinned it up into a bun, and added a headband she found among the jewelry. It set nicely behind her loose bangs, making her simple hairdo look nicer than it was. Adding earrings, and placing her feet in the slippers, she felt ready.

She stepped out of her room, leaving it a mess. She'd take care of it later. The maids bowed to her and said, "Follow us to breakfast, miss." They turned and started back down the hall, Eona in tow. They led her to an open dining hall, with a nice table big enough to sit many guests. Ilesh was already seated at the head of the table, a nice woman about his age sitting on his right, who Eona assumed was his wife.

"Hikari, join us," Ilesh greeted, standing. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you," she said gratefully. The maids pulled out the seat across from Ilesh's wife, and Eona sat. "I must thank you for all of your gifts, Ilesh. They're wonderful," she added.

"You're welcome. Only the best for my employees, right Jaya?" Ilesh said.

The woman smiled with a nod. "My husband insists on supplying only the finest for his guests, and those he hires. What job did he offer you?" she asked.

"Oh…" Eona started, still having no clue what her job would be. Ilesh jumped in, saving her from having to answer.

"She's for a special job. We haven't discussed the details yet," he informed his wife, who nodded. Just then, two young men walked in. They looked like brothers, the older of the two about her age, the other about five years younger. "Boys, join us. Hikari, these are my sons, Charan, and Harshul." He gestured to the older boy first, and then the younger.

The two bowed in turn, and then the younger of the two waved enthusiastically. "Hello!" he exclaimed. The older boy smiled, but remained silent. They both had brown hair, Charan's slightly darker. Harshul had big chocolate-brown eyes like his mom, and Charan's were a nice hazel color.

"It's an honor to meet you," she told them. The two claimed seats, Charan sitting next to her, his brother across from him. Another door opened, allowing the smell of cooking food waft into the room, and then five people walked out, carrying plates of food. They placed them in front of the people at the table, and then five more filled their empty cups with steaming tea.

They ate silently, and then when they finished, Jaya excused herself, taking an irritated Harshul with her. Charan stayed, but remained silent as they talked. Ilesh turned to Eona. "So, Hikari, let me tell you why I hired you." _Finally, _she thought, setting her tea cup down. "Recently a man broke into our home and stole a very valuable and precious family heirloom. I hired a man to track him down, and he followed him all the way to Omashu. Then the thief discovered he was being followed, confronted my man, and severely injured him. I've been looking for somebody sense then that has the right skill set to retrieve this item for me, when I met you."

"So you want me to find the thief and retrieve this heirloom for you?" Eona asked.

"Exactly," Ilesh confirmed with a nod. "I'll pay you well for it. I put a bounty on the man's head, but nobody's managed to stop him yet.

Eona nodded, taking this information in. _So I'm doing a bounty hunter's job now, _she thought._ That's a new low for me._ "How am I supposed to find him?" she asked.

"My sources tell me he's heading north again, following the coast line. Why he would come back this way, I have no idea. He's probably trying to sell the heirloom, but with my seal on it, it'll probably be hard for him to sell it; it's obvious he stole it from me, and most people wouldn't want to get mixed up in that business. If he has managed to sell it, I ask that you see if you can track it down," Ilesh requested.

"That shouldn't be too difficult," Eona said.

"So it's settled then?" Ilesh asked. Eona nodded. "Good. You should leave soon, if you want to catch him. He was last spotted a few towns south from here."

Finishing her tea, she stood, "Well then, I better get going. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll return as soon as I can." She bowed to him, something she wasn't used to, and then left the room.

Once back in her room, she changed quickly into the tunic Ilesh had given her, briefly wondering why he had insisted she wear the dress to breakfast. _I changed right back out of it. That was pointless. _She then began placing all of her belongings in the larger pack. "I'm surprised," came a voice from behind. Eona glanced over her shoulder to see Charan leaning against the door frame.

Turning back to the bed, she grabbed the sword and started strapping it on. "Why?"

"My father hired somebody else to track down that stupid piece of junk. And a girl, no less," Charan clarified.

Eona couldn't help but feel a spark of anger at that comment. "Do you think I can't handle the job?" she asked, letting her irritation show.

"Do you want the truth, or the nice lie I should tell you?" Charan asked, sounding a bit sarcastic.

"The truth."

"No, then. You can't possibly beat this guy alone. The man my father sent before you was older, stronger, a great fighter. Your one girl, probably no older than eighteen, and I'm guessing you don't have much experience with that sword," Charan said, his tone blunt.

Eona turned towards him, her anger flaring. "You know what? If you feel so sure that I can't beat him, why don't you go in my place? I can't imagine you'd do much better. Being a nobleman's son -especially one like Ilesh who hands his problems off to someone else instead of manning up and taking care of them himself- you probably don't even know how to hold this sword." She gestured angrily at the hilt protruding from behind her shoulder.

Charan raised one eyebrow, smirking slightly. "That's who you think I am? A spoiled brat?" he asked, his tone void of any malice.

"That's exactly what I think," Eona confirmed.

"You're right."

Eona blinked, completely surprised by that comment. Her anger deflated a bit, replaced by confusion. "You are? I mean, yeah, you are!" she said, trying to not let her confusion show. She couldn't let him win. _Why in the world are you agreeing with me?! _she wondered silently.

"You're right, my father would never take care of his own problems. He hates conflict, unless it's a debate for political power. He expected me to grow up, exactly like him, the perfect child. So I would be a spoiled brat unable to hold a sword properly, if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands. I was determined not to end up like my father, so I decided the first step I needed to take was to learn how to defend myself. It took me some time, but I found a master, and I learned," Charan clarified.

"Oh… Well then, that more than qualifies you to take my place," Eona said, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn't help but admire Charan for taking control of his situation like that, and was desperately trying to remain angry at him.

"But then, that would leave you without a job. So, I've decided I'm going with you," Charan announced.

Eona stared at him for a minute, once again surprised. "Is that why you came here? To ask if you could come?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, you have a weird way of asking it." After a pause, she added, "What would your father say if he found out you were planning this?"

Charan's face darkened. "My father thinks I'm off to an all-boys private school in Omashu. He won't miss me. I just said goodbye. My stuff's waiting on the porch outside."

"Oh I see, I'm just your ticket out of going off to some horrible school," Eona said with a slight smirk. He stared back, one eyebrow raised, not denying it. Her smirk faded, and she sighed. "I don't blame you. Private schools suck, I should know. Fine. You can come."

He grinned. "Great. Wait, you've been to a private school?" he asked, looking surprised.

"Uh… yeah," she hadn't realized she had said that. She had, back in the Fire Nation. Recovering quickly, she added, "Didn't expect that from a girl like me, did you?"

"Nope," he said, being bluntly honest again. _He seems to have a habit of doing that, _she thought. "What's taking you so long? We really should get going," he pressed.

She rolled her eyes, turned, grabbed her bag, and swung it over the shoulder opposite of her sword. "If you hadn't barged in here and basically called me a weakling, I would have left by now," she told him. She pushed past him, hearing him laugh lightly, and then he followed.

_Avani  
>Somewhere between Ba Sing Se and the northern shore of the earth kingdom<em>

Avani strolled along, her gaze fixed on the rock she was kicking in front of her. The dusty landscape around her was hot and dry, and very boring. Tora rested on her shoulder as usual, and Arrkun walked a few paces ahead of her. She desperately wanted to ask Arrkun, _how much longer? _But didn't want to sound like a little kid, so she kept herself busy with the rock.

Suddenly Tora crouched lower on her shoulder, letting out a pitiful moan. Deadly sharp claws slipped out of her padded paws, digging into Avani's shirt. Thankfully, they didn't catch her skin. "What's wrong, Tora?" Avani asked, reaching up to stroke the catowl soothingly. As she did, she caught a glimpse of the sky above, and looked up. "Oh… that's why. Arrkun!" She hurried to catch up to the waterbender, and then grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Avani?" he questioned, turning towards her.

"A storm's coming. A big one. We have to find shelter, now," Avani explained quickly. Arrkun glanced up to find that the previously empty sky was now slowly building with clouds.

"Where did those clouds come from?" Arrkun wondered out loud. "I swear the sky had been clear seconds ago."

He hadn't expected an explanation, but Avani quickly supplied one. "Ever since the war, the weather hasn't been normal here. Those clouds are building way too fast. I've seen it before. And notice the air? It feels heavier. I don't like it, and neither does Tora. We have to find shelter, quickly."

Arrkun stared up at the sky for a minute, watching the clouds, one hand shielding his eyes from the sun. They _were_ getting bigger, as if he was watching a storm develop in fast forward. It was an unearthly, menacing sight, making goose bumps rise on his arms. "Yeah, you're right," he muttered grimly, and then began looking around for shelter. She too searched the horizon for anything they could use for shelter. "There," he suddenly said, pointing at a mound of earth in the distance. "That might work. Don't know what it is, but it just might." She nodded, and the two started moving towards it, as the wind began picking up.

It seemed they had made hardly any progress when the sun disappeared behind the clouds, and the gentle breeze that had started became stronger, whistling across the dusty ground, picking up sand and dirt. Tora nestled herself in the curve of Avani's neck, as if she could hide from the storm above. Avani kept an eye on the weather, as if watching it could prevent it from getting worse. Glancing up again, she was amazed to see that the sky was covered in clouds as far as she could see. Angry, rolling black clouds. She looked away, fear leaping through her heart. _We're not going to make it, _she thought, trying to come up with different solutions.

"We're not going to make it!" Arrkun called back to her, as if he had read her mind.

"I know!" she said, having to yell to be heard over the wind.

"So what do we do?" he asked.

"I'm thinking!" She was, but she couldn't come up with anything. She stared down at the earth below her, wishing a cave or something would just appear. Then she slapped her forehead, realizing just how much of an idiot she was. "Arrkun! I can make shelter!" she yelled, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of thunder. She saw the glimpse of lightning just out of the corner of her eye, the cause of the thunder.

"What?" he called back as the sound faded. She repeated herself, but he still looked confused. He took a few steps towards her, when the lightning struck again. The flash blinded her, and she clamped her hands over her ears as the thunder crashed over her. She shuddered, fear racing through her, making her heart race. _That was close, _she thought. _Way too close._ On her shoulder, Tora let out a terrified hiss, flattening herself even smaller against Avani's shoulder. The sound faded, and she opened her eyes. The lightning had blinded her temporarily, so she blinked, trying to clear her vision. As the dark splotches cleared, rain began falling- sudden, horrible, torrential rain. She glanced around, looking for Arrkun, when she realized he was laying on the ground in front of her.

"Arrkun?" she said, stepping closer. He didn't reply, didn't even move. Suddenly, she realized what had happened. The lighting hadn't missed as she had originally thought. Her eyes widened in fear and shock, and she hurried to his side, kneeling down next to his limp form. She gently touched him, her eyes searching for the rise and fall of his chest. _No… wake up Arrkun. You can't be dead. _She knew it was highly unlikely for someone to survive being struck by lightning, but she still refused to believe he was gone. Sorrow filled her, overwhelming her, mixing with the uncontrollable fear she already felt. She didn't even notice Tora detach herself from her shoulder and curl up near Arrkun's limp form. She just kept staring at his face, waiting, hoping.

After a few minutes, as the rain kept pouring down, soaking the three completely, she tore her gaze away, screaming at the sky. She was suddenly angry, at everyone, at all she had lost in the past month. The loss of her newfound friend was the last draw. Something changed in her, allowing her emotions to melt away, replaced by a sudden, cold clarity. She suddenly felt immensely powerful, powerful enough to fight the storm above them, to force it away.

That's when she noticed the large funnel cloud reaching for the ground, the beginnings of a tornado. With another flash of lighting, it touched down, sending a spray of rock and dirt into the air at its base. It began moving across the horizon, slowly making its way closer. She stared at it, not really caring anymore, only mutely aware of the danger it presented. She had the overwhelming sensation of being detached, as if suddenly she wasn't actually experiencing this, but more watching from a distance as it happened to somebody else.

With power she didn't know she had, she created a protective bubble around them, made of air, water, she didn't know. Instinctively she knew it would protect them for a little while, but not permanently. Then she stood and spread her hands out in front of her. A crack appeared in the ground, quickly circling them, following the perimeter of their protection. Then, she clenched her hands into fists, and with a stomp, they plummeted several feet down. She glanced up, and the earth shifted to cover the whole, leaving small places for air to enter but nothing else. To solve the sudden darkness inside the shelter she had created, she opened her hand again, and a flame erupted there. She rested it on the ground, where it grew larger. More flame appeared on the walls where she pointed, and, slowly, her surroundings were lit by a flickering, warm light.

As it began to sink in that she was now safe, she stood staring at the flames for a minute, before her knees gave out and she slumped to the ground. She glanced around, not understanding how she had managed these things. The earthbending didn't surprise her; she had done things like that before. It was her sudden ability to use other elements as well. Where did that come from?

She stared at the flames as they burned, slowly shrinking again. Her numbness began to fade, allowing her emotions to pour back in, filling the void inside of her. _Arrkun… _she thought. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, fatigue making her limbs fill like jelly. She moved towards his body, where Tora still lay curled up next to him. She crouched next to him, still not sure if he was alive or dead. She bit her lip, fighting tears, trying to figure out what to do next.

Under the light of the fires she had created, she could see better than she had above. He was lying on his stomach, slightly crunched up, as if his legs had given out from underneath him and he had fallen. There was a burn mark on his shoulder, probably where the lightning had hit him. He was paler than she remembered too. When she discovered he was breathing, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. _He's alive, _she thought, feeling a little hopeful.

Suddenly Tora moved away from his side and started licking his cheek, wiping away rainwater. That's when she realized he was soaking wet, and probably pretty cold. She pulled his pack off his shoulder. One strap was burnt through, leaving the pack hanging from one strap. She set it aside, and then as gently as she could, she rolled him onto his back and then scooted him closer to the fire. _He has a sleeping bag in his pack, right? _She thought, remembering he had slept in one the night before. She moved back to it, opening it and studying its contents.

Surprisingly, the pack had kept everything mostly dry inside. She pulled the rolled up sleeping bag out, and then noticed medical supplies in a small bundle underneath. She pulled those out too, not sure what to do with them but knowing that he needed medical attention.

Carrying the two items back to him, she sat down next to him again, and then started examining the bundle's contents. There were bandages, a small knife, and several strange smelling creams with no indication to what they did. Then she noticed on the lid of one of the bottles faded writing, barely legible. It was hard to make out, especially since the lights above were slowly winking out, one by one, with no fuel to keep them burning. Squinting, she leaned closer to the main fire, angling the bottle so the light caught it just right. When she made it out, she smiled, realizing it said one word. _Burns._ "Perfect!" she exclaimed, making Tora look at her curiously.

Knowing his shirt would get in the way of cleaning and bandaging his wound, she decided to remove it. It was destroyed anyway, a huge whole burnt away above his wound. She discovered it pulled off over his head, but that wasn't going to happen, not with the huge burn on his shoulder. She didn't dare lift that arm to remove the sleeve. _Well… _she thought, thinking of another solution. _The sleeve's barely hanging on anyway. Sorry Arrkun. _She grabbed the knife from the kit, and began cutting away the remnants of the sleeve. Once it was gone, it was easy to pull the rest off over his head without risking his injury.

She turned to Arrkun's shoulder, the angry red burn suddenly intimidating. She didn't really want to touch it, partly because she was worried she'd hurt him more, partly because she wasn't sure her stomach could handle looking at it that long. But, she was nothing if not strong, so she clenched her teeth and got to work smearing the fragrant cream on the wound.

Once that was done, she let out a sigh. Now for the hard part. Getting the bandages around him would require lifting him, while wrapping the wound at the same time. She couldn't help but wish for a second pair of hands. "What if I…" she muttered, and then stood. As carefully as she could, she propped him up using earthbending in a way that allowed easy access to his shoulder, but kept him upright without hurting him more. She quickly got to work wrapping the wound. She quickly discovered how awkward a place the wound was, making it difficult to get the bandages to stay. Her complete lack of experience didn't help. Eventually, she managed to get the wound covered, along with his chest and most of his upper arm. They were tight enough, she figured, and kept the wound clean, so they were good enough.

Then she thought of the sleeping bag again. Carefully allowing him to slip back down to the ground, she laid him on his back. She grabbed the sleeping bag, unrolled it, and with no way of getting him inside it, laid it on top of him like a blanket. Tora tried to climb onto him, but not wanting the catowl to bother him, she picked her up and set her down away from him. "No, Tora. You can sleep with me," she muttered, before moving towards her own pack where she had deposited it sometime earlier.

She pulled out the sleeping bag, laying it next to Arrkun. She quickly climbed inside, where she fell asleep immediately. She didn't even notice Tora curl up close to her, purring softly.

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><p><strong>Author's notes: New chapters are coming a bit slower, but I promise, I will update! Starting school is making things difficult.<strong>


	6. Chapter 5

**I realized that somewhere in the writing of this, I changed Arrkun's name. It was originally Arrluk. I don't know what one I like better, but I would like to make it consistent. Which one do you as readers like best?**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

_Avani  
>Underground somewhere near Ba Sing Se<em>

Avani sat up suddenly to the sound of a screeching catowl. She looked around the dark cave, wondering what time it was. She couldn't see anything, and was really wishing for the fire from the night before. Tora let out another horrible yowl from above. Avani glanced up, searching for her in the darkness. She could just make out the catowl circling near the ceiling, searching for a way out. She obviously didn't like being underground.

Avani stood and earthbended the rock roof away, allowing bright sunlight to pour down into the hole. She blinked several times, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the sudden light. Tora shot upward, and began circling lazily above them, like a distant, hungry vulture.

A quiet whispered "Avani?" made her turn back to the cave, and Arrkun. It surprised her to see him trying to sit up, looking around the hole with slightly hazy eyes.

"Arrkun! You're awake!" she exclaimed, hurrying to his side. Kneeling next to him, she began pestering him with questions. "Are you okay? How do you feel? Do you want something to eat?" He lifted a hand, motioning for her to stop.

"I… think I'm okay. Sore, dizzy, but breathing," he informed her, allowing Avani to relax a little. "What happened?"

"You were struck by lightning," Avani informed him, wondering just how much he remembered.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Lightning?" he muttered. She nodded. "Well, I guess this explains why my shoulder aches." He gestured to the bandaged arm. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings. "How'd we get down here?"

"I earthbended us down here. How else? I wished I would have thought of the idea sooner. Maybe you wouldn't have been hurt." Her mind trailed back to the night before, remembering what had happened after Arrkun had collapsed. Remembering the moments while she had created the hole was hard, her memories blurry. The more she thought of it, the more it didn't make sense. She had bended more than one element, something that was only possible for the Avatar. _Is Arrkun's father right? Am I the Avatar? That's the only explanation, _she wondered.

"You okay?" Arrkun asked. She blinked and turned back towards him. She hadn't realized it, but she had pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them, staring at the small scorch mark where the fire had been the night before.

"Uh… yeah. Just thinking of last night. Things got pretty crazy after you collapsed," she said. He nodded, but the look on his face made her think he didn't believe she was alright. Silence fell over the two for a minute, and then Avani realized just how hungry she was. She moved towards his pack, searching inside for food. "You feel like eating?" she asked him as she started pulling some food out.

"Yeah, I'm starved," he replied, and then slowly rose to his feet. She watched him warily as he moved towards her, and didn't relax again until he was kneeling at her side. _It's good to see that he can walk though, _she thought as she handed him a role. They ate in silence, and then Arrkun said, "We should probably get going. My dad's expecting us soon."

"You think you're ready? We could wait another day," Avani suggested. She wasn't sure he was healed enough to walk all the way to the north shore of the Earth Kingdom, but she didn't think he would listen to her.

"Even if I'm not, I don't think I could sit around and wait in this whole. We've still got a lot of ground to cover, and I'm not going to let a little injury slow me down," he replied.

Avani sighed. "Alright," she agreed reluctantly. She started packing up their stuff after she finished her role. She didn't mention that it wasn't just a little injury he was dealing with.

"We have any water?" Arrkun asked from behind her. Avani pulled out a canteen from her pack and handed it to Arrkun. He took it in one hand and popped the lid off and peered inside. "This should work," he muttered.

"Work for what?" she asked, not understanding.

He looked up from the water. "Some waterbenders can use their bending to heal. I told you I wouldn't allow this injury to slow me down. Now, can you help get these bandages off?"

She sighed, moving closer. "You want me to remove all of my hard work?" she grumbled. "It took me forever to wrap these."

"Yup," he said with a small, playful smile. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"You're welcome," she said. She reached for the ties holding the bandages tight. "So have you ever done this before?" she asked as she worked.

"Nope," he informed her. She met his gaze, one eyebrow raised. He gave a small half shrug with his good shoulder and said, "I get the basic idea." She shook her head in exasperation, and then continued to work. Together, they carefully unraveled the bandages, until the wound underneath slowly became visible. It was the same angry red from the night before, but it seemed a little better. _Maybe the cream helped, _Avani thought.

"Alright, hold this for me," Arrkun said, handing the canteen back to her. She took it, and kneeled in front of him. He took a deep breath, and then lifted his hand above the mouth of the canteen. He made an upward motion, and the water streamed out, following his hand. She watched as he flipped his hand over, and a puddle formed in his palm. It spread out, surrounding his hand, and then faintly began glowing. He reached up and covered the wound with his hand. The light became more intense, and he let out a small gasp. She found herself biting her lip, nervousness coursing through her.

Eternity seemed to pass, and then the light died, and he removed his hand, the water falling away from it. Her eyes widened in surprise as the burn mark came back into view. It had faded from a bright red to a softer, tender looking pink. He moved his shoulder experimentally, and smiled. "That's better."

"Good. Let's get going then," Avani said as she stood and replaced the canteen in her pack. She stood and pulled it on to her back.

Arrkun reached inside his own pack and rummaged around for a little while, before he pulled out a short-sleeved dark blue shirt. He shrugged into it, and then pulled his pack on. "How do we get out?" he asked, glancing up.

"Same way we got in," Avani answered. "Though I'd rather not bend this whole thing back up," she added as she motioned for him to come closer to the wall. He did, and then she bended the section they were standing on up to the top of the hole. As soon as they had reached level ground, Tora dropped down out of the sky to land on Avani's shoulder again.

They turned to face the north, and started their trek back through the desert. It wasn't much longer before plant life began returning, and they left the desert behind them. After a while of walking, the sun slowly started to sink, so they stopped and made camp in another small cave created by Avani.

_Eona  
>South of her employer's home.<em>

_Dark images flashed before Eona, images of her sister, nameless attackers, her father. They were larger than life. Wild, green and blue flames surrounded them, and their eyes were dark, empty pits above maniacal grins. She called fire to her hands, but nothing came, not even a spark. Fear overwhelmed her, and she turned to run, wanting nothing more than to flee these dark creatures. She ran, fleeing the terrors behind her, but no matter how fast she ran, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't outrun them. She was enveloped in their flames, surrounded by their laughter, as the world turned crimson._

"Hikari!" A voice shattered her nightmares, a hand wrapped tightly around her arm. Eona pushed herself up on her elbows, gasping for breath. She looked around wildly, grasping at the hand holding her. She turned to meet Charan's hazel eyes. "It's alright, it's just me," he said soothingly. She forced her breathing to become even, and let go of his wrist. He moved back to kneel on his sleeping bag. She sat up the rest of the way, running a hand through her long black hair. Though she had managed to calm herself most of the way, her heart still raced inside her chest, and she had a tight knot of anxiety in her stomach. She breathed in deeply, trying to get the feelings to pass. "You alright now?" Charan asked.

She nodded, glancing at him. She was surprised to see genuine concern on his face. "Just a nightmare. I'm fine," she muttered.

"I noticed. Never thought you'd suffer from nightmares," he said, staring at her with his typical, openly curious, annoying attitude.

"Yeah well, when you have a past like mine, there's plenty of unpleasant things to dream about," she said, trying to sound irritated that he was prying, but in her shaken state, she couldn't manage it. Instead, she sounded like she was reluctantly admitting it.

"Hmm. Well then, I'm guessing saying it was just a dream won't help," he mused, moving for the satchel he had brought with him. "Hungry?" She shook her head. Feeling like she did, she doubted she could swallow anything. He shrugged. "Suit yourself." He then began eating some of the supplies he had brought with him. He swallowed a bite, and then asked, "So, where you from?"

"Really? Do I look like a girl willing to just lay my life story out on the table?" she replied.

"Maybe not." He shrugged. "Still, you have to tell me something about yourself. You know everything about me, and all I know is your name," Charan said around another bite.

Eona glanced down at her hands, realizing he didn't even know that. _Boy, I hate lying. And I hate even more that I'm good at it, _she thought. "I really don't like talking about my past," she muttered.

"Fine, fine. I'll just wait." She stared at him a minute, not sure what to say to that. Eventually she started to roll up her sleeping bag. "Then can I ask you a question?" he asked, breaking the silence. "A question unrelated to your past, that is."

She sighed heavily. "Depends on the question," she answered curtly.

"You're not from the Earth Kingdom, are you?" he asked. "You're from the Fire Nation, right?"

She glanced up, not expecting this. "Your extremely perceptive," she said, only half sarcastically. "What gave me away?"

"Well for one, your appearance- your eyes and hair, to be specific. Black hair, golden eyes. Those are common Fire Nation traits, at least among nobles. I wouldn't know about the lower classes. Then I took a look at that sword of yours, and recognized it as a popular sword among Fire Nation wielders. Add those together, plus your fiery temper, and it's obvious." He shrugged, as if this announcement was nothing big.

_Fiery temper? I don't have a fiery temper. Do I? _she wondered to herself. Then she shook her head, irritated that he was getting under her skin like this. "Well now you know something about me. Enough questions for the day," Eona snapped. She had finished wrapping her sleeping bag up and hooked it to her pack.

"See? Fiery temper. It doesn't take much to set you off," Charan pointed out with a smirk. He began packing up, realizing she was getting ready to leave.

She started back on the path, glancing around. "We don't have much farther to go until we reach the town this guy was last spotted in. After that, it shouldn't take long for us to track him down."

"Great. Let's get going then." He joined her on the path, and together they continued south. After walking in silence for a while, he sighed. She glanced at him, one eyebrow raised in question. He noticed her gaze and smiled slightly. "I drive you insane, don't I?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe a little," she admitted.

"I'm sorry. I'm used to getting everything I want. Sometimes it's hard to accept defeat," he informed her.

She turned to stare off to the west. "Yeah, I know what that's like," she muttered, before even thinking about what she was saying.

"You do?" he asked, sounding surprised. "How?"

She sighed, realizing she had slipped and hinted at her past again. "Let's just say my life wasn't always that bad," she said with a small, dismissal wave of her hand.

He narrowed his eyes, staring at her for a minute longer. "Uh huh…" he muttered, and then turned back to the path. _Great, now I've only sparked his curiosity more. Why can't I learn to keep my mouth shut? _She thought. "Well anyway, pestering you for answers isn't going to help me any, so I guess I'll just have to wait and let you tell me," he added.

She shook her head. "You're dead set on getting answers out of me one way or another, aren't you?" she asked.

He smirked then. "Even if it kills me. I'm going to be stuck with you for a while, I want to know who I'm traveling with. Bounty hunters aren't usually the safest of companions. I got to know my life's not in danger traveling with you."

"And knowing my story is going to guarantee your safety?" she inquired.

"Secrets are a deadly weapon in the world of politics, my friend," he replied with a small nod. "So, yes, knowing your story will help."

"You knowing my secrets only further motivates me to remove you. You're a threat at that point, and silencing you will guarantee _my _safety," she countered. She knew the world of politics, much better than he thought she did.

"Well, aren't you the nasty little backstabbing bounty hunter. Maybe I shouldn't pry. I wouldn't want to get stabbed in my sleep," he said, his words sarcastic.

She smiled. "Just thought I'd give you a fair warning."

"But what could you have to hide that you are willing to kill to protect?" he asked, sounding extremely curious.

She shook her head, realizing he was serious when he said he wouldn't give up. "Wouldn't you like to know," she told him.

They continued along the path in silence. It lead them into a forested area. Underneath the tree's canopy, it was darker. Eona studied the scenery as they walked, enjoying the view. The path took them up a hill, and then the trees abruptly ended. Below was a small town, similar to ones Eona had already passed through while in the Earth Kingdom. "That's the town," Charan said. "Let's go ask around, see if anyone's seen him."

Eona nodded, and they started down to the town. The road wound down in a crisscrossed pattern, and briefly the town disappeared from view again. Eona paused to grab water from her pack, swinging it off of her shoulder and setting it down on the ground. "Hikari!" Charan called, and she whirled, turning back to him, to find several armed men had appeared out of the foliage to surround the two. One was lunging towards her, a knife in hand. _When did these guys show up? _She thought. Simultaneously, she sidestepped and reached for her sword, avoiding the man, and readying her weapon. Charan had drawn swords as well, and backed towards her. "Friends of yours?" he asked.

"Maybe," she said with a shrug. "Don't recognize them."

"Alright girl, come along quietly and we'll spare your friend," one of the men growled, grinning wickedly. He almost seemed like he was hoping she wouldn't listen; he looked like he wanted a fight.

"Yeah, I guess they are friends of mine," she muttered, and then added louder, "What do you want with me?" There was no way she was going to back down, but she was curious.

"Daddy wants you to come home. He says he's worried about you. Doesn't want his little princess running around on her own. She might get hurt," another man answered, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah right. Loving father practically disowned me," she snapped, and then swung at the nearest guy, catching him off guard. He stumbled back, avoiding her blade, and then they all attacked at once. Charan and Eona ended up back to back, fighting for their lives.

Though Eona was pretty familiar with a sword, and Charan turned out to be as good as he boasted, these men were trained mercenaries, with enough skill to overpower the two, and they were outnumbered. Eona knew this fight wouldn't go well, but she planned to take out as many of their captors as possible before they took her down.

When Eona's sword was knocked from her grip, she was about ready to resort to firebending, when one of the men yelled, "Stop, or we kill him!" She whirled around, to find Charan pinned against a tree, his swords gone, a small knife gripped in one hand. A man stood over him, a sword pointed at his chest, and another stood next to him, blocking his escape. Charan glanced at Eona, an apologetic look on his face.

"Fine, fine, just don't hurt him!" she replied, raising her hands. The man holding the sword nodded, and two of the men behind her grabbed her arms and roughly forced them behind her back. They bound her wrists tightly together, and then forced her to her knees. Charan dropped his knife, giving up as well. They bound his hands too. She met his gaze as they worked, and was surprised to see gratitude in his hazel eyes. Did he really expect her to let them kill him?

The men forced Charan to kneel next to her, and then they started ruffling through their packs. "Well, that didn't go as planned," Eona muttered, smiling apologetically at Charan.

"No worries. We'll get out of this," he replied with a shrug.

She shook her head slightly. "Sometimes you drive me insane," she muttered. "How can you be so sure?"

He shrugged. "Hey, we're alive, that's all that matters. We'll figure something out eventually. So what was this all about?" he asked. "I caught something about a mad father wanting you home."

She shrugged. "Something like that." _Home to kill me, probably, _she added to herself. She couldn't imagine her father actually wanting her home for any other reason.

"Wow. And I thought my family was bad," he muttered as their captors moved to their weapons. They had already stashed many items from both their packs, and seemed intent on claiming their weapons too.

She chuckled. "You have it easy," she muttered. A man grabbed her sword and inspected it, smiling greedily. She moaned as he claimed it, immediately missing the blade. She hadn't realized just how attached she had gotten to that sword. "I'm not going to find another sword like that…" she grumbled.

When they finally seemed satisfied, they turned to their prisoners, and forced Eona and Charan to their feet. They started into the forest, leaving the path behind them. They traveled for a while, as the sun slowly sank. Eventually, they stopped at a camp already set up, obviously the kidnapper's base. They were pushed roughly into a tent, and then left alone in the darkness.

"Sorry I dragged you into this," Eona said as she sat up clumsily, her bound hands making it difficult. She looked around, but couldn't see much in the darkness. The tent was small, just big enough for two people. Looking behind her, she saw two men standing outside the door, guarding the entrance.

Charan seemed to shrug, but it was hard to tell in the darkness. "It's alright. You didn't know these idiots were going to jump you, and I kind of dragged myself into it, by forcing you to allow me to come with you," he replied.

"Actually, I probably should have expected this," she muttered. She knew very well her sister wouldn't give up hunting for her, and her father probably would prefer her locked up where she couldn't bring more embarrassment to the family than roaming around free.

They fell silent for a moment, and then Charan said, "Thanks for not letting them kill me back there." His words were quiet, and he sounded a bit reluctant to admit that he was grateful.

"Did you honestly expect me to let them kill you?" she asked him.

He chuckled. "Do you want the truth, or the nice lie I should give you?" he asked, repeating himself from earlier.

"The truth, always," she responded.

"I thought you would let me die. You didn't seem to care about me, or anyone else. You seemed like every other selfish bounty hunter out there, and I figured you'd let me die to save yourself," he told her, surprising her.

"I wouldn't let you die. I wouldn't let anyone die like that. I'm not that selfish," she replied, trying not to sound defensive. She had asked for the truth.

"That's good to know. I knew you were being sarcastic before, but I wasn't sure _how _sarcastic," he said, his tone light again. "I got to admit, you're hard to read, sometimes. Usually I'm good at guessing what people are thinking."

"I've had lots of practice," she muttered, thinking of how back home she had to be so careful to control her emotions to protect herself, now it was an easy habit to slip into. After a few more minutes, she laid down, deciding to try and rest. Laying with her arms bound behind her back was extremely uncomfortable, but eventually, while laying on her side, she dozed.

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><p><strong>Author's notes: Sorry for the slow update. Thanks to all those that have followedfaved this. It makes me feel good to know I'm not wasting my time writing this. :) If you read, please leave a comment/review! I love hearing from my readers! Also, I'm not actively searching, but am interested in, having somebody beta read this for me. If you're interested, post a review saying so.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry it took me so long to update. I had a whole chapter written and ready to post, when I ran into some computer troubles. I lost the whole chapter in the process of repairing my computer. It took me a while to remember all that this chapter had consisted of.**

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

_Eona  
>Somewhere in the Earth Kingdom<em>

When Eona woke, it was to light streaming through a gap in the tent, shining directly on her face. Unable to sleep with the glare, she shifted uncomfortably and fought her way into a sitting position. Her arms ached from being bound all night, and the arm she had laid on was numb. She stretched as best she could, wincing as her stiff muscles complained. "Well, I've definitely slept better before," Charan muttered as he sat up next to her.

"No kidding," Eona grumbled.

"So what's our plan?" Charan asked.

Eona shrugged. "We can't wait around and let them take us back to my father, that's for sure."

"I take it he's not the nicest man in the world?" Charan ventured.

"Nope," Eona replied simply. She knew there were more questions coming, so she quickly changed the subject. "Got any ideas?"

Charan thought for a minute, shaking his head slowly. "Nothing's coming to me." He sighed. "Want to know what would be really convenient right now?"

"A knife?" Eona guessed.

"That would be, but I was thinking it would be way convenient if one of us could bend," Charan replied, his words strangely neutral. He met her gaze, and wouldn't turn away, as if saying, _I know who you are. Just admit it. _

_Should I tell him? _Eona wondered, meeting his unwavering gaze. _Can I trust him? _She was tempted to. Bending would be convenient right now. _Tell him Eona. Say I am a bender… say it... _"Yeah, that would be nice," she replied, her tone matching his. She immediately felt disappointed with herself. She had gone so long hiding her bending, when she had finally found somebody she could share the truth with, she chose to keep it hidden again. She saw a flicker of disappointment in his pale eyes, and then she dropped his gaze, feeling uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny.

Silence fell over the two, and with it came a tension between them that made Eona jittery. Suddenly breaking the silence, Charan started to say, "Hikari I—" but he cut himself off, as if deciding against what he was about to say.

"What?" she asked, looking to him again.

He shook his head. "Nothing," he murmured, staring intently at the tent entrance.

"You started to say something," she pressed, stating the obvious. She couldn't help but feel that his sudden reluctance to talk had something to do with her reaction to his previous comment.

"Why should I tell you when you refuse to tell me anything?" Charan suddenly snapped. He blinked in surprise, as if he hadn't meant to say it.

"What does that have anything to do with this?" Eona demanded, immediately feeling defensive.

"I brought up the bending thing because I already know you can bend," he stated, his tone flat. "I just wanted you to have the chance to tell me."

She stared at him, confused. "How did you find out?" she asked, her voice reserved.

"I always suspected. I know it's very common for noble born Fire Nation citizens to be able to bend. And then this morning, when you had that nightmare, before I woke you up I noticed little flames on your fingertips," Charan admitted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Can you blame me for not? Bending is practically illegal in the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. I didn't know how you would react," Eona defended. After a pause, she added, "I'm sorry I lied, but I didn't know what to do. I'm not used to being able to talk about it."

"Because of your father?" Charan guessed.

"Yeah." Eona stared at her feet, not wanting to meet his gaze. She didn't want him to pry any further as he often did, because she was afraid she would lie again. She honestly wasn't sure she could trust herself to tell the truth.

Once again silence enveloped them, and Eona began thinking of more pressing matters, like escaping. She tested her bonds, wondering if she could possibly slip a hand out. She discovered they were very secure, just as they had been the night before. They were so tight, they cut the circulation off to her hands, making them tingle uncomfortably. "If I could just get my hands at a better angle, I could burn through these ropes," she grumbled, "but I can't even bend my fingers up to reach the rope."

"Could you get to mine easier?" Charan wondered.

"Maybe… scoot closer." After a few moments of awkward reaching and a lot of scooting around, Eona ended up back to back with Charan, his hands just in reach. Her fingertips brushed his hands, and then found the ropes binding his wrists together. "Sorry if I burn you, I can't really see," she apologized, before creating a small flame on a fingertip. The flame quickly ate through the binds, freeing him. As the ropes fell away he quickly flipped around and got to work on hers.

She felt the ropes loosen a bit, and then finally give away. She sighed in relief as she stretched, the sore muscles in her shoulders finally able to relax. Looking down at her hands, she discovered her wrists were red, made raw by the rough, too tight rope.

"Let's go," Charan said, moving for the tent entrance.

"Wait, they're probably out there," she said, laying a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "We need a plan." He ducked back into the tent, nodding. "We need weapons. I might be able to bend, but you can't. We should also try and get out without fighting; we've already seen that there's enough of them to overpower us."

Charan nodded. Glancing through the gap in the tent doors, he glanced around, studying the camp outside. "There's a bunch of tents set up in a circle. It looks like most of the men are gone. There's a handful sitting around a fire in the center…" He paused, seeking something specific. "There! Near the edge of camp. The guy that took your sword is sleeping. The sword's on the ground next to him."

Eona smiled. "Alright. Here's the plan. We sneak out when no one's looking. You head for the sword. If you can get to it without anyone noticing, great. Once you have it, or if you get spotted, I'll distract everyone, and we can run for the forest."

Charan nodded. "How?"

"How what?" Eona asked, one eyebrow raised.

"How are you going to distract them?" he clarified.

Eona smiled slightly. "You'll see." He shrugged, and then peered out of the tent again.

After a few seconds, he muttered, "They're all turned away. Let's go." The both slipped out of the tent, and made their way towards the edge of the camp, where the man was sleeping. Sure enough, Eona's sword was laying haphazardly next to the man. It was in its sheath, and discarded as if he hand found it uncomfortable to wear while sleeping.

Charan moved towards the man, staying silent. Eona kept her eyes on the others. Just as Charan picked up the sword, a man near the fire glanced over his shoulder and noticed Eona. He cried out, gesturing towards them. The others turned too, reaching for weapons. "Charan!" Eona called, and then reached out a hand, taking control of the flames in the center of the camp. She gestured upward, and the flames responded, erupting into a large column. The group scattered, fearing the flames, as Eona backed away, Charan moving to her side. More flames erupted on her hands as she prepared to defend herself, but she quickly realized that wouldn't be necessary. The fire had caught onto the trees above, and they were quickly burning. The men weren't paying any attention to their two fleeing captives; they were more focused on saving their own lives.

"Come on," Charan called, and Eona realized as she had watched, he had moved away, heading for the forest behind them. She turned and ran, following him.

They left the quickly burning camp behind, and ran for a little longer. After a while, they slowed from a full sprint to a light jog, keeping an eye out for pursuers. It didn't take them long to find the road where they had been ambushed. Surprisingly, they found their packs still lying on the side of the road, partially concealed by the thick bushes that had hid the ambush earlier. Reclaiming the bags, they quickly headed down to the town below, not wanting to stay on the open roads and risk another ambush.

Once in the town, Charan finally stopped. "I told you we'd get out," he told her, grinning lopsidedly at their own success.

Eona allowed a small smile. "Yeah, you were right."

Charan unstrapped the sword, handing it over to her. "Here. This is yours."

"Keep it, until you can replace your own. You need it more than I do," Eona said, pushing the sword back towards him.

"You sure?" he questioned. "I know you like this sword a lot."

She shrugged. "It's just a sword. And I do want it back, but not until you can give it back without leaving yourself unarmed," she confirmed.

He strapped the sword back on, and then glanced around the town. "Well, I suggest we do that soon; I don't know how effective I'll be with this sword. It's nothing like the weapons I trained with."

"No problem, we'll just buy you a new one when we come across a shop," Eona decided. Just then, Charan's stomach growled awkwardly loud. Glancing at him with a smirk, she added, "First, let's find something to eat."

* * *

><p><em>Avani<br>The northern shore of the Earth Kingdom_

Another day of walking brought Avani and Arrkun into view of the shore. As they came to the crest of a hill, they looked down onto the sandy beaches below. The sky above was the slate gray of winter, making the ocean look deep and dark. It was colder here, close to the sea and so far north. Avani didn't mind it; the colder weather was a nice change from the hot, dry sand of the desert.

In the small town below, small shacks were scattered about, intermingling with more permanent, earth-made structures. Long, wooden docks stretched out into the ocean beyond. Avani quickly noticed the tall, blue sailed mast of a ship docked at one port, it's long, sleek body made of a sturdy, dark wood. "A watertribe ship," she muttered.

"That's my dad's," Arrkun said as he joined her. He was obviously surprised when he saw the ship. "I guess the meetings were over." Noticing Avani's confusion, he explained further, "My dad and I originally came here together. We split up though about a week ago when he and some other tribseman headed to the North Pole for the annual meeting between the two tribes. He hated leaving the search, but he had no choice. I offered to stay, and join him a week later in the pole if I didn't find you by then. It ended up being a good thing that I stayed behind; I ran into you not a day after he left." He shifted the pack on his back as he explained, looking a bit uncomfortable. Avani knew his shoulder was still sore, but he didn't complain, and she tried not to nag him about it. She had discovered over the past day and a half that he quickly became cranky if she pestered him about it too much. "I wonder how long he's been waiting."

"Who knows? Let's go find him. The sooner we get down there, the sooner we can rest," Avani said as she started down the hill. He followed.

In the town below, the shacks were mostly supply shops and places for traded goods between the Earth Kingdom and Water tribes to be stored. The more solid buildings were dwellings, and one inn. They ran into Arrkun's father on the way to the port as they neared the inn. Arrkun spotted him leaving the building, and waived to him. "Arrkun!" the man exclaimed, a broad smile spreading across his tan face. He hugged his son, Arrkun only protesting slightly. Then the man turned to Avani. "This must be Avani. You look like your parents."

Arrkun nodded. "Yup. And Avani, this is my father, Iluq."

"Hello sir," Avani said politely.

"Your timing is perfect, Arrkun. I wasn't expecting you for another few days," Iluq stated.

"I got lucky and found Avani not long after you left for the North Pole," Arrkun explained.

"Makes sense. Come, then. There are plenty of people to meet, and a lot to discuss," Iluq said, waiving them into the inn. Arrkun followed, Avani close behind. Iluq lead them to a room near the back of the inn. Inside, several people sat around a large, low table. They chatted quietly, but when Iluq entered the room, they immediately fell silent. Avani could see their respect for the watertribe man in the way they looked at him and the way they acted when he entered the room.

Iluq gestured to two empty seats at the table, and then claimed his own at the head of the table. Avani sunk onto one of the soft pillows on his left, Arrkun next to her. She studied the many faces of the people surrounding her, seeing a mix of Earth kingdom and Water tribe natives.

"Welcome everyone, and thank you for meeting me here on such short notice," Iluq started. "As you know, at the end of the war, the water tribes made it their duty to search the world for the next Avatar, feeling that they were the only hope for fixing the mess of a world we had created. Most of the other nations, when invited, denied us their assistance, saying the Avatar cycle had long ago been broken. Most did not want more benders, much less a bender with power over all four elements. Then, bending was made illegal in the Earth kingdom, and our reach was suddenly limited. Still, we continued the search for the next Avatar among the Earth King's people in secret, despite his disapproval. Those of you among us that are Earthbenders, I thank you for your loyalty despite the risk to your lives." Avani glanced around the room, wondering who else shared her earthen powers.

"Now, after several years of searching, I think our quest may finally be coming to a close," Iluq continued. He turned his intense blue gaze on Avani. "This young woman is Avani Nomura. I have watched her grow in her abilities since she was very young, and since the days of the war I have never seen such power in such a young person. I am confident Avani is the Earthbender we are looking for."

Avani felt the eyes of the whole room shift to her. She stared back stubbornly, trying to hide her nervousness. After a moment of uncomfortable silence that seemed to stretch on forever, one man turned back to Iluq and said, "Forgive me, chief, for questioning you, but how do you know this girl is the Avatar?"

Avani glanced at Arrkun, caught off guard by part of the man's comment. Not once had Arrkun mentioned that his father was chief of one of the two tribes. _So what does that make him, a prince? _She wondered. When Iluq began to reply, she turned her attention back to the conversation. "I have no proof yet, other than her knack for the bending arts. I was hoping, with the right questions, Avani would be able to confirm or deny my suspicions." He turned to her, staring at her expectantly.

Avani swallowed hard, feeling as if they were all waiting for her to do something spectacular. "I think… you may be right," she said softly, looking to Iluq.

He seemed pleasantly surprised. "What makes you say that?" he questioned. He didn't sound like he doubted her, more like he simply wanted more information.

"Well…" Avani started, not sure how to explain the events of the past few days, or where to begin. She started explaining her and Arrkun's trek across the desert in a small voice, the events—and all of the trauma that went with it—still fresh on her mind. As she explained the storm, and how Arrkun had been injured, she watched Iluq's expression change from curiosity to worry, and then to parental concern. He glanced at Arrkun, who gave him a reassuring smile as if to say, _it's alright dad, I'm fine. _As Avani explained the events leading up to the creation of the cave they had spent the night in, Iluq's eyes widened in surprise. Avani heard a few surprised gasps from around the table, but kept her focus on Arrkun's father.

As she finished her story, the room fell into a shocked silence. After a moment, Iluq said softly, "I couldn't have asked for more explicit proof. My dear, what you experienced—the sudden increase of abilities and control—that is what we call the Avatar State. I'm guessing the pain and anger you felt, plus the dangerous situation you were in brought it on."

"So… I am the Avatar?" Avani muttered. Since Arrkun had first told her of his father's suspicions, she had mulled the idea over, but now that it was beginning to sink in that it was true, she suddenly felt overwhelmed. She thought back to when she and Arrkun had stood on the wall overlooking the flooded city of Ba Sing Se. She remembered joking about how she was supposed to fix the world because she was the avatar. Suddenly that little joke wasn't funny anymore.

"Yes child, it would seem that you are," said an elderly voice from across the table. Avani glanced across the table and met the gaze of a wizened old man sitting across from her. He was smiling, his green eyes sparkling with hope. "Finally," he added, almost to himself, "We can began to repair what we did to this world."

"That is, if Avani's willing. Avatar or not, we cannot force her," another man stated from farther down the table.

Once again, they all turned to Avani. She was quickly beginning to wish they wouldn't do that. "I'm willing to help, but… I have no idea how I'm supposed to even begin."

Iluq smiled at her, clearly happy to hear she would help. "First, like all the Avatars before you, you must learn all four elements. Following the cycle, fire would be next."

"So… how am I supposed to learn firebending?" Avani asked. "I don't think any of you are firebenders."

Iluq shook his head slightly. "Sadly, no. We couldn't get any firebenders to join our cause. Most started disappearing soon after the current Fire Lord came into power. It's been impossible to get in contact with any… but we may have found one here in the Earth Kingdom."

"Really? Where? Who?" Avani questioned.

"We've been tracking her for quite some time. It hasn't been easy. She's currently along the southwest shoreline. Now that we know you're willing to help us, we plan to approach her. Hopefully, she'll be willing. She's… not the kindest person, but we think she'll want to do what she can to help her country. Things are rough there now," Iluq explained.

Just then, the door swung open and in walked a man carrying a letter. "Chief Iluq?" he asked.

"Yes?" Iluq answered

The man walked to the head of the table, and presented the letter. "A letter for you, sir."

"Thank you," Iluq said as he accepted the letter and handed the man a few octagonal, blue tinted coins. The man left, and Iluq proceeded to open the message and read it. Avani watched, hoping to discern the letter's contents from his facial expression, but he remained unreadable. After a minute, he sighed. "There's been a problem… our scouts report that the firebender has been captured by thugs from her home kingdom. They plan to take her back to the capitol."

Avani's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why is this bad?" she asked.

"Because the Fire Lord has killed almost all benders. It's illegal there now. If she returns home, she wouldn't survive long… especially since the Fire Lord has a personal agenda against her," Iluq explained.

"Why? Who is this firebender, anyway?" Arrkun asked, speaking up for the first time.

"Oh, just the former crown princess of the Fire Nation. Her name is Eona," Iluq replied with a small, bittersweet smile.

Avani blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected anyone of importance. "I thought she was dead," Arrkun stated.

"She was supposed to be. That's what the previous Fire Lord and his replacement told the world; she was supposed to have been murdered in her sleep by firebending assassins. Apparently, it was a lie. The current Fire Lord must have tried to remove her sister so she could be Fire Lord instead, and now wants Eona dead to make sure she stays out of the way. We suspected as much, but couldn't confirm it," Iluq told his son.

"We cannot allow Eona to be killed. We need a firebender on our side. Her being the rightful leader of the Fire Nation could also be used to our advantage. We must find a way to free her from the bandits," one man stated.

"Maybe in her gratitude, she'll help us," another mused.

The first man nodded. "She'll have to, weather she wants to or not. She'd owe us, at that point."

Iluq raised a hand, silencing the men surrounding the table. "I agree, saving Eona must be our newest priority. How should we go about doing it?"

"I want to help," Avani spoke up.

Iluq nodded. "What do we know about these bandits?" a man asked.

Glancing back at the letter, Iluq remained silent for a minute, reading over it again. "They are well trained in swordsmanship and hand to hand combat, but none are benders. They seem unwilling to kill Eona, but their hesitation may be because of orders, and might not extend to anyone else. There are at least twenty of them," he informed the group.

"We have an advantage if none are benders," Arrkun said.

"A small one, yes, but we mustn't rely on that. According to the scouts, it won't make much of a difference," Iluq replied.

"I say we send our best fighters and equip them for stealth, have them sneak into the camp at night and free Eona. If they cannot get to her without conflict, they must be prepared to fight," the man across the table from Avani suggested.

"That may work, Ratna," Iluq mused. "They must leave soon; the scouts believe that the bandits intend on returning to the Fire Nation."

Ratna frowned. "How do we expect to get our fighters down there before the bandits have moved on? That is quite a distance to cover by land," he pointed out.

"They will not be traveling by land, at least for the whole distance. There is a river south from here. Traveling by boat with the assistance of waterbenders, they will reach the coast in time to stop the bandits," Iluq explained.

"You hope, at least. The journey on land will be slow, and through mountain passages, and they will have to carry the boats with them," another man stated.

Iluq sighed. "It is our best option. Either that, or they leave the harbor here and travel around the country, and that would add several days onto the trip, or they take the whole thing by land and have no chance of stopping the bandits before they reach the ports."

"Then why don't we let them take her? Once she's on the ship, we could attack and rescue her from there," someone suggested.

"I'm not sure that would be the wisest plan…" Iluq muttered, mostly thinking out loud. "The Fire Nation's ships are the best built in the world. They would be hard to catch, and even harder still to win in a fight."

"What if we let them take her to the Fire Nation?" Avani muttered, an idea slowly forming.

"How would that help us? That's exactly where we don't want her to be," someone argued, but Ratna raised a hand to silence him.

"Let the young avatar speak," he said, and everyone fell silent, turning to her.

Avani could feel herself blushing, but she continued anyway. "Once they get back, they won't be expecting an attack. They'll think they made it home clear. I doubt they'd kill her right away. If we can't catch them on land, why risk it? Go by water, the fastest way possible, and catch them on the open water. If we can't overpower them, then let them get to port. After they've docked, we'll ambush them. Take them by surprise."

Everyone remained silent. "You know what… that just might work," Iluq muttered after a minute, breaking the silence. He smiled at Avani. "Seems like you have your father's brilliance."

"This is our best idea," Ratna agreed.

"It's settled then. Anyone willing to help should be ready to leave by dawn tomorrow. We will gather outside the inn. Final numbers will be decided then," Iluq instructed.

After discussing a few more things, the meeting ended, and the members scattered. As Avani walked out of the room, Ratna approached her. "Avani? May I have a word?" he asked.

"Uh… sure," Avani replied.

"Long have I awaited the return of the Avatar, and now you are here. We are all very grateful for your willingness to help our cause. I just wanted to tell you I hope that you can live up to your title, and I wish you the best of luck in your travels." With that, he bowed deeply in respect, and slipped away, surprisingly agile for his age. Avani watched him leave, both unnerved and comforted by his words. She shivered, amazed that somebody like Ratna—a wizened old man who obviously knew much more than her—could show her, a girl barely sixteen, such respect.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_Eona  
>Small Earth Kingdom Inn, later that night<em>

Glancing around the room, Eona sighed. There wasn't much to it, but it would have to do. Even with only a hammock in the corner and a small dresser, the room felt cramped. She dropped her bag next to the dresser, and then sat in the hammock, almost afraid to trust her weight to it. It held, thankfully.

Charan poked his head in from the hall. "Your room as pathetic as mine?" he asked, his tone full of mock cheer.

"Uh huh," Eona grumbled, swinging lightly in the hammock.

"Hopefully we can find this guy soon and you can go get that money from my dad, because after buying me a sword, enough food for a week, and renting these two rooms for the night, I think we're officially out," he said as he moved to lean against the wall near the hammock.

"Dang bandits," Eona grumbled.

"Just be grateful I kept my money on me and they didn't think to search us," Charan commented. "We would have been left with nothing."

"I had too much to carry in my pockets. You saw that," Eona muttered, leaning back in the hammock. It was surprisingly comfortable. She left one leg hanging out to push herself lightly, enjoying the swaying.

"Yeah, and they were all Fire Nation coins, too. What'd you do, rob daddy before you ran away?" he asked, teasing.

"Yup," Eona confirmed, not the least bit ashamed.

Charan chuckled. He fell silent, and Eona glanced at him. She was beginning to be able to guess a little about what he was thinking by his facial expressions. The one he wore now was very familiar; he was curious, but didn't want to ask questions and bother her.

She sighed, looking away. There was a part of her that was ready to just give up, and tell him what he wanted to know. He had figured so much out already, and she was beginning to learn it was very hard to keep secrets from him. Telling him would simplify things for her, a lot, but she still was unsure. After a long pause, she finally gave in. "I should probably explain a bit better, shouldn't I?" she muttered.

Clearly, she had caught him off guard by this. He was obviously used to her just blowing off his questions, refusing to tell him anything. "Well, yeah… if you want to, I mean," he stumbled, clearly unsure of how to respond to this.

She smiled a bit at his reaction, but it quickly faded. "Before I say anything, you have to know I've lied a lot by now, but I did it because I seriously thought I would be endangering myself and possibly others if I told the truth. Also, by telling you all this, I may be possibly endangering you as well… so I'm sorry for both," Eona warned.

He nodded, silently accepting this information. Part of her had expected some sort of joke, but she was grateful he was taking this seriously. She stayed silent for a minute longer, not sure where to begin. _Well, might as well start at the beginning. _"You've actually patched most of it together on your own, which is pretty amazing, so I'll just give you what you don't know. First, my name's not Hikari, its Eona." She paused when she saw his reaction; he seemed to recognize her name, which was weird.

"Eona…" he muttered, his eyes narrowed a fraction. "I know that name from somewhere." She realized it was suddenly very possible he had heard of her before; he was raised in an Earth Kingdom noble's home, so her name may have circled through conversation once or twice at formal meetings or at any moment when the two nations interacted. "Isn't that the name of the Fire Nation's crown princess?" He asked. She stayed silent, meeting his gaze, letting him connect the dots. He was smart; she figured it wouldn't take him long.

Suddenly his eyes widened in surprise and he exclaimed, "All this time, I've been with a princess and didn't even know it?"

She smiled slightly, "You could say that," she said softly.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Wow. Didn't expect that," he muttered. He tilted his head to one side as if contemplating something. "But now it all makes sense; I'm guessing you left because your sister took over somehow, and tried to have you killed? And since you don't like your father… I'm guessing he's in on it?"

She nodded. "Officially, I'm dead. Father wants me to return home so he can keep me locked up and away from the world, so I can't cause trouble with my sister. Problem is, she is the rightful ruler of the nation; father gave her that title lawfully, so there's nothing I could do about it. I really don't want to do anything about it, anyway."

"So you came to the Earth Kingdom, and became a bounty hunter," Charan finished.

"That's actually a pretty recent development. Your dad saw me fight off an idiot who threatened me. Apparently I impressed him, because he offered me a job. Knowing the money I had taken from home wouldn't last long, I agreed. And then we wound up here," she corrected.

He nodded again, staying silent for a minute, "So we might very well run into those bandits again pretty soon?" he asked.

"Uh huh. In fact, I'm counting on it; that's why I insisted on you buying that sword, even though we're a bit low on money," she agreed.

"Fun… and now they'll be expecting the bending, so they'll think of better ways to keep us locked up, other than flammable ropes," Charan grumbled.

"I don't intend on giving them a second try; after we complete the job for your dad, I'm heading to the South Pole. They wouldn't dare follow me there; tension between the Fire Nation and South Pole is bad enough as it is. They wouldn't risk an all-out war just to retrieve me."

"I don't know… those bandits seemed pretty ruthless. I don't think they'd care one bit what they caused, as long as your dad paid up when they delivered," Charan mused.

Eona considered this for a moment. "Maybe. Still, I'm willing to try it. Heading there would at least throw them off, and then once we're out of Earth Kingdom territory, I could bend freely; the poles have no laws against it."

Charan nodded. "I guess with some of that money from my dad we should invest in some warmer gear," he pointed out.

"You sure you want to come with me?" Eona asked, just a bit surprised he was still willing to follow her. She had expected he would stay when she left for the pole.

Charan shrugged. "Why not? It beats going to a stupid rich kid's school."

"Well, I'm pretty sure it would be safer there… as long as none of the teachers tried to kill you," Eona joked.

Charan smirked. "I'm not sure about that. I've heard some pretty crazy thinks about the teachers there. They have a killer late policy."

Eona chuckled. "If you say so."

After a moment of silence, Charan said, "Hey Eona?"

She looked back to him. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for telling me. And thanks for trusting me," he told her.

"Yeah well, just don't disappoint me," she replied, unable to resist pointing out that what she had told him was still touchy information.

"Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me," he replied, smiling softly.

She nodded, and then, after an uncertain pause, added, "Thanks for letting me tell you. It was good to actually be honest with somebody for a change."

He shrugged. "That's what friends are for, right? Besides, I've been told I'm easy to confide in." Then he pushed himself away from the wall, seeming satisfied with the conversation. "Well, I'm going to go see if my meager room offers any comfort in the way of rest. See you tomorrow."

She waved halfheartedly, and then moved to shut the door after he was gone. Alone with her thoughts, she suddenly discovered a weight she realized she hadn't been carrying had lifted from her shoulders, suddenly making her feel relieved.

* * *

><p><em>Avani<br>Nearing a river at the base of a canyon pass, south west of the port town_

Avani stared down at the darkening valley in front of her, wishing the sun had stayed just a bit longer, so she could make out more details. The group was slowly pouring out of a large canyon, and beyond was supposed to be the river they would take the rest of the way down the countryside.

Once they reached the river bank, they quickly set up camp along the shores. Most were exhausted from the long hike through the mountains, carrying three boats big enough for the group. Avani had taken a turn helping haul one of them, and knew very well just how inconvenient it had been. Despite her exhaustion, she struggled to get to sleep. She realized she was anxious for the coming days, knowing they could very well be filled with plenty of fighting. Plus, she now had to worry about being the Avatar. That wasn't something one just adjusted to.

After a long while, she finally managed to fall asleep. It felt like she had just barely dozed when someone shook her awake again. With a groan, she climbed out of her tent and glanced around. The sun hadn't risen yet, leaving the valley in the same half-lit state it had been in the night before. The boats were being slid onto the river's surface one by one. Avani helped collect supplies and place them in the boats.

Eventually, they started down the river, traveling at a quick pace. Waterbenders propelled them forward, Avani watching as the benders maneuvered the boats expertly along the winding river. There were a few groups that rotated in shifts, working completely in sink in a way Avani had never seen benders work before.

Arrkun was among them. She couldn't help but envy him a bit; he had grown up in a world where bending was allowed, even encouraged, and it showed in the way he expertly manipulated the water, unafraid to let his talent show. She caught herself watching him while he worked, no matter how hard she tried to pay attention to the rest of the benders as well.

In between two shifts, Arrkun joined Avani at the front of one of the ships. The two stood next to each other in silence. With a sigh, Arrkun leaned against the railing and said, "Well, we're on our way."

"Yeah. How long do you think it'll take us to get to open waters?" Avani asked.

"A week maybe? At this pace, it shouldn't take long," Arrkun answered. "I'm no expert though. You should ask my dad that, if you want an exact number."

Avani shrugged. After a few minutes, she asked, "So when will we stop to make camp?"

"Probably not until the morning. We decided after we got on the water that working at night would be faster. I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner. From now on though, we'll work through the night and sleep during the day," Arrkun explained.

"Great. That'll be interesting to adjust to," Avani grumbled. Arrkun chuckled.

They fell silent again for a while. "You think we're ready for this? For saving this Eona girl?" Avani asked when she couldn't stand the silence anymore.

He turned to her, one eyebrow raised. "We better be. If not, why in the world are we risking everything to save her?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes I wonder," she sighed.

He studied her silently for a minute, a questioning look in his eyes. "You okay?" he asked eventually, sounding genuinely concerned.

She forced a smile and nodded. "Just nervous. It's amazing what pressure being the avatar has put on me. It's been… hard to adjust."

"That's explainable; you've only had a couple days to adjust," Arrkun pointed out.

"Yeah. Hopefully it'll get better. I just… I hope I'll make a good avatar," Avani muttered, staring down at the water rushing by below.

Arrkun joined her against the railing, staring out at the setting sun in front of them. "The world could use a good avatar, couldn't it? Hopefully you'll be it."

"I thought that was the moment when you were supposed to say 'don't worry Avani, you'll do fine' or something else cliché," Avani joked.

"Why? There's no way I can know what's going to happen, or if things will turn out the way we want them to," Arrkun pointed out.

"I guess that's true," Avani agreed reluctantly. "A little reassurance would still have been nice though."

"Well, I can say I think you've got what it takes. Does that help?" Arrkun asked.

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, it helps a little." She said it only helped a little, but she would never admit how much it actually affected her to hear him say he had faith in her.

Glancing over his shoulder, Arrkun announced, "My shift starts up again soon." Turning to her, he added, "You'll be alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Avani replied.

He nodded, seeming satisfied, and then moved away. Avani turned back to the sunset ahead, her mind on the future.

* * *

><p><em>Eona<br>The next morning__._

"Alright, so what's the plan for tracking this guy down?" Charan asked as they exited the hotel the next morning.

Eona sighed. "My best guess would be to ask around for him. This was the last town your dad's informants saw him in. Someone should have seen him; he doesn't exactly blend in. Once we get an idea of where he is or where he's headed, we just keep looking for him until we find him, I guess…" She trailed off, realizing just how many holes there were in her plan.

As if reading her thoughts, Charan commented, "Great plan."

"I'm not too great at this, am I?" Eona said with a small chuckle. "What else are we supposed to do though?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Charan admitted.

"Asking random people it is then," Eona grumbled.

After several hours of asking, they finally came to a small, shady tavern on the edge of town. "Perfect place for a thief to hide while he's trying to sell his stolen family heirloom, right?" Charan said as they approached.

"Yeah, I guess. Let's be careful though, alright? I would rather not get in another fight," Eona cautioned.

Charan nodded, and the two entered the tavern. Glancing around, they took in the patrons. None of them matched the description of their thief. Eona pushed away her disappointment and moved toward the bar, hoping the tender had seen him. She asked about the thief, and couldn't help but get a bit excited when she saw the look of recognition on the bartender's face. "Yeah, I seen 'im. In fact, he was in here just a bit ago. 'e seemed to be heading out of town." He shrugged. "Looking for 'im for some reason?"

"Maybe. Thanks for your help. Keep this quiet, alright?" Eona told him, and then flicked a coin in his direction and hurried out.

"I think you just gave him our last bit of money," Charan grumbled as he followed her out.

"I had to make sure he'd stay quiet. That money will keep him satisfied. If he thinks its touchy information, he'll make everyone pay him to hear. I'm hoping that'll deter anyone asking into our thief."

"I guess you're right. So where to now?" Charan asked.

Eona gestured down the road, toward the nearest edge of town and open roads beyond. "He went that way, according to the bartender, so we will too. I'm hoping if we hurry we can catch up to him." Charan nodded. The two set off at a brisk pace down the road, scanning the surrounding area for any sign of their thief.

After only a few moments of walking, the sun set beyond the mountains. After a bit longer, Charan paused. "It's getting hard to see. Should we stop?" he asked.

Eona shook her head, unwilling to stop. "He might stop. This would be a good chance for us to catch up to him."

"How are we supposed to find him in the dark?" Charan questioned.

Eona paused a moment, glancing around. "I'm pretty used to the dark. I should be able to see him."

"But I can't."

"Then hope I don't miss him," Eona responded with a shrug.

Charan sighed, clearly unsatisfied by their current situation. Mimicking his sigh, Eona raised her hand and created a small flame in her palm. "There, does that help?" she asked.

Charan blinked rapidly, half from surprise and half from the sudden increase in light. The flame's light danced eerily on his face, and turned his hazel eyes slate gray. "Yeah, a bit," he muttered, watching the flames in fascination.

Eona turned away, a bit self-conscious under his gaze. She still wasn't used to him knowing she could bend, any more than he was used to her bending, and it was obvious in the way he looked at her. She continued down the road in silence, trying to ignore his not-so-subtle glances. Just when she was about to snap, she noticed the glimmer of fire deep in the trees to her left. "Look," she said, pointing to it.

"I see it. Could it be him?" Charan asked.

"Only one way to find out," Eona decided. She headed off the path, toward the distant campfire. She crept silently through the forest, reminded of the nights she would sneak from her room down to the unused courtyard to practice firebending. Charan stayed close, surprising her at how well he kept quiet. As they neared the fire, Eona doused hers, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence. Once they were close enough, she parted the bushes in front of her quietly, and peered through.

Sitting in front of a small camp fire was a lone man, digging through a pack. He pulled out a small roll, before glancing around cautiously as he ate it, almost as if he was expecting someone to appear out of nowhere. It took Eona a few minutes to discern his features in the dim light, but she was sure he had dark skin and light gray hair, just as Ilesh had described. She glanced at Charan next to her. He raised an eyebrow in question. She nodded, and then motioned for them to attack. With that, she jumped out of her hiding spot, sword drawn. The man jumped, clearly caught off guard. Charan circled around behind, his own weapon drawn. "I think you have something that belongs to me," he growled.

The man smirked. "So Ilesh's little pets caught up to me again, I take it? Good. I was just getting bored." He stood, moving with the fluid grace of a well-trained fighter, and drew a sword, holding it loosely off to one side with both hands. "You sure you want to do this, girl? I only left the last man alive so he could tell Ilesh to forget about his trinket." When Eona didn't respond, he shrugged. "Suit yourself."

He bolted forward, his sword separating to reveal it was actually two mid-swing. Eona parried, finding herself immediately on the defensive. Then Charan joined in, and the fight seemed a little more evenly balanced. _Ilesh wasn't mistaking when he said this guy was a good fighter, _Eona thought. She pushed herself harder, trying to get ahead of the man's attacks, but it wasn't easy. She stayed mostly on the defensive, managing only a few attacks here and there.

Just when Eona was beginning to think the man was tiring, he caught her by surprise, catching her sword between his. He yanked hard on them, causing Eona's grip to loosen on her sword. With a quick twist, he disarmed her, and then quickly attacked again. Eona dodged, trying to move closer to her sword, but he pushed her back with a few well-placed swings. Charan attacked from behind, giving her a moment to find her balance. She glanced at her sword, knowing the thief knew exactly where it was and wouldn't let her get to it again. Deciding she had no better option, she called flames to her hands.

The man glanced at her, looking surprised. He parried an attack from Charan, and, apparently deciding she was the bigger threat, turned on her. She dodged his attack, and then with a punch sent a fireball towards the man's face. There was no way he could dodge completely; it hit him on the shoulder as he slid to the side. He cried out in pain as the fire burned his flesh, and dropped the sword that hand had been holding. Gritting his teeth in pain, he barely managed to avoid Charan's next attack.

Pressing her new-found advantage, Eona continued to throw bending attacks at him. He struggled to keep up. She burnt him again a couple times, eliciting a cry of pain from him each time. There was a part of her that withered at the sound of his pain—she had felt the sting of a burn from time to time, and knew how painful it could be—but a cold clarity had come over her, focusing her attacks and forcing her to ignore what she was causing.

When she caught him on the leg, he stumbled into a tree, and Charan pressed his sword against his neck. The thief paused, breathing hard, pain written plainly across his face. After a few tense seconds, he dropped his sword, raising his good arm in defeat. "Take the heirloom. It's in the pack. Let me live."

Keeping his gaze on the thief, Charan commanded, "get the heirloom. I'll keep him here." She nodded, letting the fire on her hands die, and quickly moved to the pack.

She opened it, rummaging through the contents before pulling out a small egg-shaped object encrusted with jewels and a small insignia. "This it?"

Charan nodded after glancing her way. In the split second his gaze was turned away, the thief reacted, punching Charan hard in the stomach. Charan doubled over, coughing, his sword moving away from the man's throat. The man kicked out, knocking Charan back, and then reached for his sword. He stood again, poised to strike Charan. Eona reacted without thinking; she shot a stream of fire in his direction, high enough to avoid Charan, but dead center on the man. He screamed as the flames enveloped him, and then he slumped against the tree, falling silent.

Charan glanced up, wide eyed, at the man. "Is he… dead?" he asked, his words barely audible.

Eona grimaced at the man's appearance and turned away. "If he isn't now, I doubt he'll live long," she muttered, suddenly feeling sick. _I did that, _she thought, surprised at how upset she was. She knew very well how dangerous fire was, so why was the results of her actions so revolting to her? "Come on, let's get out of here."

Charan stood slowly, his gaze still fixed on the man's body. She moved to his side, wondering if he was injured. "Are you hurt?" she asked, reaching a hand out to lay it on his shoulder.

He turned to her, a weird light in his eyes. "Aren't you the least bit affected by this?" he asked softly, his tone cool.

She blinked in surprise. "Of course I am. I've never killed someone before, and it wasn't something I had planned to do, but I acted. What's done is done; there's no reason to mourn over this man."

His eyes glazed over as he stared past her for a minute. "I think I know why most fear benders now," he commented.

She pulled her hand away, shocked, and just a bit hurt. "What are you talking about?" she asked warily.

"Benders are different in many ways, but this is the reason non-benders fear you. You treat other's lives so lightly. He was a threat to you, so you removed it without a second thought. You know very well that you are powerful, and aren't afraid to use it," he explained. There was no emotion in his voice, only a calm calculation.

"So do you fear me now?" she asked bluntly.

He turned to her. "No. But I fear what you can do. I power like that should be feared. I simply understand why now."

She turned away, trying to hide the sorrow building inside her. She had hoped it would never come to this. "Fine. Leave then, if you must, but don't turn me in. Remember, I saved your life, twice."

"I still don't plan on leaving," he told her, catching her off guard.

She turned back to him. "What? Why not?"

"I said I feared your power. But I respect you as well, and am grateful for what you have done for me," he clarified. "You did what you had to. If it were me in your situation, I can't say I would have had the courage to take another's life to protect those I care about." She stared at him, wide eyed and unsure what to say. He smiled slightly. "Wow, I managed to leave you speechless. Was I too harsh? You did ask for the truth, always."

She shook herself from her stupor, contemplating his words before responding. "No. Actually, I like hearing the truth. I've lived a life of lies, and I'm tired of it. Hearing this from you helps clarify a few things. Thank you." She bowed, wanting to show just how much she appreciated his honesty.

He seemed just a bit surprised, and then returned the bow. Then, taking the heirloom from her, he muttered, "Let's get this back to my father."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's notes: <strong>

**Charan's first encounter with how brutal fire can truly be! I think he handled it well. Hopefully he remains so understanding…**

**For those that have already read chapter 4 before I posted this one, I added a description of the thief that Eona and Charan go off of in this chapter. **

**I think updates will be about monthly now. That's what I'm shooting for.**

**Please, if you liked it, leave comments, suggestions, whatever! I love to hear from my readers!**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Eona  
>Three days later, at Ilesh's house.<em>

After knocking on the door, Eona waited patiently for Ilesh to answer. The trip back had been surprisingly uneventful, leaving Eona to wonder what had happened to the bandits. She was sure she hadn't seen the last of them, but she wasn't complaining about their lack of appearances.

She had left Charan in the nearby town, where they planned to meet up again once she had delivered the heirloom and collected the money. They had decided it best that he not show up at his parent's house, since he was supposed to be halfway across the country by now, on his way to an all boy's school in Omashu.

The door opened, revealing Jaya. "Hikari! You made it back!" She exclaimed. She opened the door wider, and gestured for Eona to enter. "Let me go find Ilesh. I will only be a moment," Jaya told her as she closed the door. She disappeared down a hall, returning a few minutes later with her husband.

"Hikari! Was your mission successful?" Ilesh asked as he approached her.

Eona bowed slightly in greeting. "Yes, it was," she replied as she pulled the heirloom from her satchel. She presented it to Ilesh, who took it, clearly delighted.

"Ah… thank you, my friend." He took a minute to study it, obviously wanting to make sure it wasn't damaged. Seemingly satisfied, he turned back to her. "And the thief? What has become of him?" he asked curiously.

Eona had to fight to keep her expression neutral. "He is dead," she replied simply, her voice void of emotion.

Ilesh nodded, his expression darkening for a brief moment. "It is unfortunate that blood has been spilt, but I am grateful you returned safely. Now! I believe I promised you quite the reward for this." He disappeared for a few minutes, returning with a large satchel. "The agreed amount," he announced as he handed it to her.

"Thank you," Eona said as she took the satchel. She took a second to glance inside, but she didn't doubt Ilesh was being honest when he said the amount was right. Suddenly getting antsy to leave, she added, "If that is all, I should be on my way."

"Of course. You must be very busy," Ilesh agreed with a nod. "Good bye." Eona gave a small wave and headed back out the door.

"If you ever need anything, you know where to find us," Jaya called from the porch as Eona started down the walk.

Turning back to them, she called, "I'll remember that!" Then she turned and continued, not looking back again. _I'm glad that's over. Now let's get to the North Pole, maybe I can live in peace, _she hoped silently.

It took Eona an hour or so to make her way back into town. She headed for the inn, where Charan was waiting for her. As she walked through the town, she glanced around, noticing it was eerily quiet on the streets. Few people were out, and they all seemed to be hurrying inside. She caught sight of a child peeking through a gap in curtains hanging over a window, before he was drawn away by someone else in the home. Eona slowed her pace, studying her surroundings more fervently. It was almost as if something had chased the townspeople away.

Cautiously, she continued through the town, keeping her eyes open for whatever caused everyone to act so afraid. She rounded a corner, coming to the town center, and suddenly discovered the cause of the hush over the town. Standing in the city center was a large group of men, several of them dressed in the green and brown uniforms of the Earth Kingdom. She quickly slipped back around the corner, but she already knew it was too late; as she pressed herself against the old clay wall, she heard a shout from the crowd. "Hey! I saw someone over there. Go look; it may be her."

_Great, _she thought. _If they got the military involved, there's no way I'm getting out of the country alive. _She kept her gaze on the street opening as she backed away, trying to put some distance between her and the crowd. She hadn't gotten far when about five men poured around the corner, their gaze scanning the street. It wasn't hard to notice her, and she had nowhere to hide, so instead of running she drew her sword and prepared for a fight.

"Wait!" one shouted as she started toward them. "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" she didn't let him continue, clobbering him over the head with the hilt of her sword.

The man standing just a few feet behind the first one was dressed in uniform. He watched as Eona took down her first opponent, and then cursed underneath his breath, clearly surprised it had happened so fast. "If you want to your friend again, you'll stop attacking us!" he told her hastily when he noticed her approaching him.

This made Eona pause. "What are you talking about?" she had a growing suspicion she already knew; Charan was in the town somewhere, and the bandits knew she had been traveling with him earlier.

The soldier seemed to relax a bit when she paused. "We have your friend, the boy, who was traveling with you. We'll kill him if you don't come willingly."

Keeping her face carefully neutral, she asked, "Who are you talking about?"

A man dressed like the bandits stepped forward, pushing the soldier back. She couldn't help but notice he had a fresh burn wound on his face, probably caused by the stunt she had pulled in the camp when her and Charan had escaped from them, and had to resist the urge to smirk. "The boy you were traveling with when we caught you the first time. You know who we're talking about, stop bluffing. Hazel eyes, brown hair? Calls himself… Charan, was it?" he glanced back at another companion, who nodded in confirmation.

She pretended to contemplate his words for a minute, as if she recognized the name but couldn't quite put a face to it, then exclaimed, "Oh, him? He was just someone I hired to help with a little job I picked up in town. His life is of no real concern to me." _Believe me please, _she begged silently. She had previously been confident in her ability to lie, but Charan had shaken that a little bit. _Please don't be as perceptive as he is. _

"Want to tell that to him?" the soldier asked, smirking. "He's here, if you want to see him."

An idea was slowly forming in her mind. Despite how reckless it seemed, she decided she had to get closer to Charan if she wanted to free him and get away. "Nah. Like I said, I don't care about him." She turned to one of the bandits, and met the man's gaze. "Who I would like to see is your leader. I would like to find out why you guys won't leave me alone before I kill you all." She managed to make her words sound like a real threat, even though it was an unrealistic one—there was no way she could kill all the men in the city square.

The man laughed. "You couldn't take us all, even if you wanted to." After a minute, he added, "Fine, you want to meet him? Drop your weapon and we'll let you."

She shrugged, sticking her sword into the ground with a sense of finality. _This better work. _It didn't bother her too much to leave the sword behind—it wasn't like she was unarmed—but it still felt weird to allow them to order her into leaving it behind. They seemed satisfied, and gathered around her. She didn't resist when they pushed her forward, moving her back toward the town center.

Once there, she quickly did a headcount. There were definitely more soldiers and bandits there than her and Charan could take together, much less her alone. Her heart sunk a bit at this prospect, but she knew she had to try and free Charan. _There's still a chance this'll work out, _she told herself. _I may be able to get him out of this mess. _She was surprised to find she had willingly given up on herself, and was simply trying to get her friend to safety.

They led her to a few men near the center of the group. One was sitting on the edge of a dried up fountain, the other two standing nearby. He looked up as they approached, and then gestured for the other men to leave, who quickly bowed and slunk away. He stood and met her gaze, a victorious glint in his dark eyes. "Well, well, well. If it isn't our illusive little ex-princess. Welcome." He bowed mockingly. Eona was tempted to kick him while his guard was down, but that would spoil her plans.

"So you're the idiot that won't leave me alone?" she asked.

He rose from his bow, meeting her gaze again. "Yes, that would be me. What, did I upset you? I'm sorry princess." He seemed unable to drop the mockery.

She continued to ignore it, shrugging nonchalantly. "Well, you were a bit of a nuisance, but nothing I couldn't handle. You almost made me lose my bounty. That would have pissed me off, but you got lucky."

He laughed. "Wouldn't want that, would we?" He smirked. "I'm glad you had the sense to not to try and run. That's good for us. I knew the moment I had your little friend in my control, you would almost come running to me, begging me to free him. Well, don't worry, he's in good shape." He turned and gestured behind him.

Eona glanced over, noticing Charan for the first time. He sat with his hands tied behind his back, leaning against the fountain. He glanced her way briefly, looking ashamed, then turned away, seeming unable to meet her gaze. Turning back to the man, she said, "Actually, I didn't come here for him. I came here for you. I was wondering how much my father paid you to hunt me down."

The man raised one eyebrow in surprise. "Really? Why does it matter to you?"

She shrugged lightly. "Guess I want to know how much money I'm worth to dear old dad."

He chuckled again. "So you don't care for the kid at all?"

"Nope," she lied, hoping she was convincing. "You kept him tied up and wasted your time catching him for no reason. Sorry to disappoint."

"Well. I guess we can leave him here then, can't we?" he asked. She couldn't tell if she had him convinced or not, but she didn't want it to be too obvious that she was trying to get him to let Charan go.

"Do what you want with him, I don't care," she told him with a shrug. "He owed me money; that debt is paid. Now I have no business with him."

The man studied her for a minute. She held his gaze, trying to act bored but sure of herself, which wasn't easy; she was a tight ball of tension, ready to react in an instant if things went wrong. She kept her arms crossed against her chest, her weight shifted on to one foot, anything but an aggressive position. Eventually, the man nodded, and then flicked his hand toward Charan. A soldier approached and untied him. Charan turned to her, looking a bit confused. "E—" he started, but she quickly cut him off.

"Go. Your debt is paid. Try not to be so reckless next time; most bounty hunters would have killed you," she told him, meeting his gaze for a few brief moments, hoping he understood the true meaning of her message. _Go, Charan. Get somewhere safe. Stay out of this. Forget about me._

Charan sighed, and then started pushing through the crowd, moving away from her. She would have sighed with relief if it would have given her away. _Now for the hard part—saving my own butt. _Meeting the man's gaze again, she informed him, "Oh, and I'm not coming with you to the Fire Nation, by the way. I have other plans. Now that we've met, I think I'll finally be rid of you."

He raised an eyebrow in question. "And how do you expect to do that?" he asked, clearly not taking her threat seriously. "You're obviously unarmed, and I am obviously not." He rested a hand on the hilt of the sword at his side for emphasis.

She shrugged once more, finally allowing herself a smirk. "Not all weapons are easily visible." With that, she called fire to her hands and attacked him quickly, leaving him no room to react, similar to the way she had finished off the thief earlier in the week.

Except before she had a chance to turn to her next opponent, she realized the fire never reached him. Her eyes widened a fraction when she saw him lift his hands and gesture sharply downward, the fire parting to follow his movements. When it cleared, he was smirking. "So you are a bender. Good. I was hoping for a challenge." Then flames leapt to his hands, and suddenly she found herself battling with another firebender.

It had been a while since she had fought another bender, and she quickly realized she was out of practice. He pressed his advantage, pushing her back with fire blast after blast, the crowd shifting to get out of the way of the wayward flames but never straying too far. She barely managed to direct the fire away from herself in time to avoid being burnt. The heat was almost overwhelming, but she was used to being so close to such intense warmth.

She fell back on her basics, remembering her mother's teachings from years earlier, and managed to find a break in the attacks. She threw in an attack of her own, and then quickly shifted around him, taking a tactic from sword fighting and moving out of the range of her opponent's onslaught. She quickly attacked again as he shifted to face her, harder this time, putting all of her strength into each attack. She felt the fire respond to her strength, growing in intensity. Still, he managed to keep up with her, and she was starting to worry he was simply a better fighter than her.

Just when she was starting to tire, he gave some sort of hand signal, and others attacked from around her. None of them were benders, but she was already tired and there were just too many. She seriously injured several of them though before someone thought to throw water at her, dousing her flames for a brief moment, and then one man managed to tackle her from behind. Growling in frustration, she kicked out, squirming, even resorting to biting in an attempt to free herself, but it was no use; once she was down, they almost dogpiled to keep her pinned. They bound he hands together, tightly enough that she couldn't even move her hands, her fingers quickly going numb from lack of circulation.

Their leader then approached her as she continued to struggle. Two men held her by the arms, and she pulled against them, trying to get free. He grabbed her by the chin and forced her to meet his gaze. "Wasn't expecting that, were you, little princess?" he mocked. "You'll be coming with me to the Fire Nation whether you like it or not."

Grasping at one last option, she pulled away from his hand and spat, "my sister would have you killed if she found out you can bend. How do you think I ended up here?"

He didn't waver one bit, his smirk still in place. "Oh I know how much she hates benders, but she makes exceptions for those that she… favors." Eona scowled, not liking the implications he was making. He laughed at her reaction, and then ordered, "Gag her." His men quickly responded, tying a cloth over her mouth tightly. She wanted to scream, more in frustration than fear, but managed to control herself as they dragged her away to whatever fate awaited her at her sister's hands.

* * *

><p><em>Avani<br>A week later, in a small Earth Kingdom town farther down river_

Just when it seemed like her life had become nothing but dark nights and cold water, Avani found herself on land again, and during the day. The group had stopped to resupply before they journeyed out onto the open ocean, and hopefully get an update about Eona's position. Arrkun was asleep somewhere, trying to recover along with the rest of the waterbenders from the long trip. They planned to stay a day in town to give them a break, then head out again. Sadly they didn't have much time to wait if they wanted to catch Eona before she reached the Fire Nation, meaning the waterbenders were really under a lot of pressure to keep up the pace even though it was tiring. Avani felt a bit bad for them, and was amazed by their strength.

She found herself on the dock, staring out over the all too familiar river, when someone approached from behind. She heard the dock creek underneath their footsteps, and glanced back to see Iluq. "One would think you would be bored of this landscape after two weeks of nothing else," he commented with a smile.

"Maybe a bit, but I can't help but head back this way. I guess I'm just anxious to get going again," she replied with a shrug.

"I can understand. If we had more waterbenders and I could spread the work out more, we wouldn't have stopped more than a few hours to buy supplies. But we have to make do with the forces we have." She nodded in agreement, understanding. "Oh, we got an update on Eona's position."

"Really? What did you find out?" she asked.

"Ironically enough, when we were planning to liberate her, she had actually managed to free herself. Our information was delayed by the distance."

Avani stood, spinning around to face Iluq. "So this whole trip was for nothing?!" Avani exclaimed in disbelief.

"No, we still need a firebending teacher for you. Now, we don't have to rescue her, we have to find her," Iluq explained.

Avani sighed. "So she just managed to make our job harder," she grumbled.

Iluq chuckled. "I think saving her would have been harder. We'll find her, don't worry."

"I hope so." Avani glanced back at the river, her gaze turning far away. "Sometimes I still can't believe I managed to get myself tangled up in this mess. All I wanted was to find my parents. Arrkun told me you could help me. Now I can't look for them," she admitted quietly, not sure what had urged her to tell Iluq this.

Looking concerned, Iluq told her, "You agreed to help us, but if you would rather look for your parents, we can wait. Our plans have waited for a long time, a few more weeks for your parents won't hurt. They were good friends of mine."

Avani considered his proposal for a minute. There was a part of her that jumped at the chance to find her parents, to just go home with them and pretend none of this had happened. She missed them so much it hurt to think about them. _But then… what about everyone else? _She asked herself. _Could I really turn my back on them and forget about everything? About what's happening to other benders? _

Turning to Iluq, she told him, "I think my parents would be very disappointed if they found out I abandoned you to look for them. It's not what they would have wanted. I'll stay. Besides… I don't even know if they're alive." Admitting it out loud for the first time made the pain of losing them worsen. She bowed her head to hide the tears gathering in her eyes, hoping Iluq hadn't seen them.

Too her surprise, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and softly said, "Avani." When she looked up to meet his gaze, he smiled warmly, gratitude in his big blue eyes. "After this is over, I will do everything in my power to help you. I swear on my life." She nodded, and then he pulled her into a hug. She couldn't help but be comforted by his presence.

_We'll figure this out, _she told herself. He let her go, and she gave him a smile, despite the tears streaking her face. "Thank you, Iluq, for everything."

"You are very welcome. And thank you, Avani, for being so strong. We need that. Not every sixteen year old girl would have the courage to help us or make the decisions you are now," he told her, his smile never wavering.

She nodded, feeling anything but strong. Seeming satisfied with their talk, he turned and headed back into town. With a sigh, she plopped back down on the dock, impatient to get moving again.

* * *

><p><em>Two weeks later <em>

Avani stood staring at yet another small Earth Kingdom town, unable to believe another two weeks had already passed. The group had arrived at another riverside town, and then headed inland for a little while, taking the most direct route possible to the last town Eona had been seen. Now finally there, they had paused to make plans.

"We still have daylight for another few hours. I say we not waist that and start looking immediately. If she knows she's being hunted, I doubt Eona would have stayed here long," Iluq said behind her.

Avani reluctantly pulled her gaze away from the town, turning back to her arguing friends behind her. "I agree. I don't think I could wait any longer. I want to find out where she is now."

"But some of the members are exhausted. We need to rest," Ratna pointed out. Avani couldn't help but think he was probably one of those that were tired of all the walking, but didn't want to admit it.

"Let's split up then," Arrkun suggested. His father nodded in agreement. "Those that are too tired to continue make camp here. The rest head into town and look around. It would be better if we didn't take a large group anyway; it would draw too much attention."

"Alright then, why don't you and Avani go look around? I'll help get everything set up, and then start looking myself," Iluq instructed.

Arrkun nodded, and moved toward Avani. "Come on, let's get going," he told her as he hurried past.

"You don't have to tell me twice," she told him as she followed. She quickly caught up and the two walked down to the town together.

They spent some time looking around for Eona, asking people if they had seen a girl that matched her description, with no luck. Eventually, they approached a tavern, deciding to ask around inside. Most people, including the owner, said they hadn't seen anyone that matched their description. Some simply chose to ignore the two.

They came to a young man sitting alone in a corner, his shoulders hunched over, his gaze far off. Avani was about to suggest that they leave him alone—he didn't look like he was in the mood for conversation—when Arrkun bumped him on the shoulder. "Hey," he asked, "Have you seen a girl about our age, with black hair and golden eyes?"

The man glanced up, his hazel eyes brightening with recognition. "A Fire Nation girl? Eighteen? Yeah, I've seen her." His tone became guarded as he added, "Who's asking?"

"We need to talk to her. We heard she passed through these parts. We're old friends," Avani stated, deciding it best to make it seem like they weren't out to give Eona any trouble.

The hazel-eyed boy chuckled. "Old friends, huh? She didn't mention anything about having friends in the Earth Kingdom. Or the Water Tribe, for that matter."

"Look, we heard she's in trouble and wanted to help. We're not here to hurt her," Arrkun told him.

"Trouble. That's an understatement," the man grumbled. Suddenly, he pushed his drink away and stood, staring Arrkun in the eye. Avani backed up a bit, but she quickly noticed his stance wasn't threatening. He looked curious as he studied her and her friend with a piercing gaze. "Well, she told me to get her back if I could, didn't she?" he muttered, clearly not talking to them. "Fine then, you want the truth? She was here a few weeks ago, but some men and Earth Kingdom soldiers took her away." He paused, his hands tight fists at his sides. Avani realized he was struggling to contain some sort of emotion, weather it was anger or sadness or something else she couldn't tell. "She's probably halfway to the Fire Nation by now, if not already there. If you want to find her, you'll need my help; we're going to have to fight to get her away from the men that took her."

Avani nodded, both excited to know where Eona was and disappointed to find out they were too late to help her. "We've brought plenty of friends; we're ready for a fight." After a pause, she added, "I'm Avani, by the way, and this is Arrkun."

The man bowed formally. "Charan." Straightening again, there was a small smile on his face. "It's good to meet someone else that isn't out to kill Eona." Avani returned the smile. She couldn't help but notice how good looking Charan was, with chin length dark brown hair, and his captivating hazel eyes. Realizing she was starting to stare, she glanced away quickly, hoping she wasn't blushing.

"Let's get going; we're burning daylight," Arrkun pointed out, sounding surprisingly impatient. She glanced at him, wondering what had gotten into him. She shrugged it off, and started out of the inn, the two boys following.

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><p><strong>Author's notes: Charan meets up with Avani and company! Yay! This was probably expected by all of you, but it still makes me excited. Once again, please comment!<strong>


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